


An Unlikely Romance - Once Upon A Time

by TheWolfSage



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-05
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:20:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 32,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22571653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWolfSage/pseuds/TheWolfSage
Summary: There is a town in Maine, where children's dreams come to life. Where magic is more than just a dream, it's a daily occurrence. Where true love isn't just real, but measurable, and where everyone knows theirs is out there, somewhere. But also a place where danger can lurk under every stone and behind every tree.Of course, you didn't know any of this. You were just trying to get to a family reunion and somehow ended up on the wrong side of the state. Werewolves? Curses? Prince Charming and Snow White? You'd been more concerned about which of your relatives was going to make a drunken ass out of themselves this year.But now, you find yourself embroiled in a small war between legendary creatures and imaginary people. The town of Storybrooke hides more than just a curse, and you soon find yourself questioning everything, even yourself. What mysteries will be solved? More importantly, when you can't even trust the world you stand in anymore, who will be by your side to see you through it all?Once upon a time, there was a woman, named Ruby...
Relationships: Ruby Rose/Reader
Kudos: 13





	1. Unwelcome Inn

**Author’s Note:** This story takes place during a fictional (or at least lengthened) break between the last episode of Season 3 and the first of Season 4.

As you looked over the map again, you couldn’t help but to wonder if you were somewhere less in the middle, and more off to the left. Or maybe the right; way, way to the right, somewhere within all that blue on some godforsaken island, somehow managing to become so completely lost that you actually drove over the water without realizing it. Then again, perhaps that wasn’t the most likely outcome.

After all, if you were in the middle of some island paradise, the people would’ve been much more friendly. As it was, you were almost afraid to touch the burger sitting in front of you, no matter how scrumptious those first few bites had been. Those had been before you realized you were the target of more attention than if you’d walked into the diner wearing a bright, neon sign.

“Something wrong with the food? Granny’s always willing to put out a fresh one if something went wrong with the burger.”

The voice was a bit of a shock; you ruffled the map slightly in your haste to shift it downward and reveal the face of the person speaking to you, and as you did so you placed a rather large section of main in the juices of your burger.

“Ah, crap,” you mumbled, vainly scraping at the underside of the map. No good; the paper was thin enough as it was, and the sauces were already fading and discoloring the lines. That was going to make your difficult task of navigation even harder.

“Well, I wouldn’t say it’s that bad.”

You finally looked up and saw who was talking to you – the waitress. Your face turned almost as red as the leather pants she was wearing when you noticed the somewhat scantily clad woman directly overhead. Her entire midriff was visible, only barely hidden by the fact that she was bending over the table slightly. You averted your eyes back to the map and scooted the burger to the side so that you had a bit of room to work as you cleaned off the map. Not that it mattered – you were sure (pretty sure anyway) that you were in southeastern Maine, most of which was now covered in a mixture of ketchup and pickle juice, and none of which was legible.

“Uh, no, the burger’s delicious actually. Just… trying to figure out where I am. Thank you, though, really. Nice to have someone who doesn’t just… stare.”

“Believe me, I know the feeling,” she said. You didn’t look up, but you thought you could feel her rolling her eyes. “Sorry about that, by the way. We’re not much used to visitors around here. You’re not gonna find us on that map; we’re probably the biggest town in all of Maine that doesn’t show up on one. Nobody ever got around to it, I guess.”

“Sounds rough. Am I bothering anyone?”

“Well, I _am_ getting a little frustrated that the person I’m trying to help out won’t even make eye contact with me.”

“Sorry, I just,” you gave up on the useless map and set it down with a sigh, sure the running ink was a damnation of your vacation. “I was trying to get to Rockland, thought I’d take an unusual route, you know? Shortcut through the countryside. I saw this town and thought I took a wrong turn, so I figured I could stop here for a while, get my bearings, you know? I didn’t realize I was intruding.”

“You’re not really intruding. Like I said, we just aren’t… used to visitors. Now, maybe I can help you figure this out. See, we’re right about… here-“

“What do you think you’re doing? If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times, you can’t just serve the pretty ones, no matter how good you think the tips will be. You write the tickets, I’ll handle the tables for the rest of the night.”

“Granny! I- come on, you- oww!”

If you hadn’t seen it with your own eyes you would never have believed the nature of the incident you just witnessed. As her very finger descended toward the map, your savior was whisked away by the matron of the establishment, Granny of Granny’s Diner. By the ear, no less. You watched in awe for a few moments, then threw the map off of the table in frustration, kicking it under the table so that you could at least enjoy your food in peace.

“Littering’s against the law, you know. I’ll cut you some slack as long as you share some of those fries with me, though.”

Across from you, a blonde woman, no later than her mid-twenties you were sure, sat down without so much as asking. Guessing she didn’t work there – as even the waitress bold enough to wear that outfit wasn’t bold enough to just take a seat – you turned toward her and gently sipped at the cup in your hand.

“Sorry. You must be…” you trailed off, letting the woman introduce herself before you bothered. Her attitude didn’t exactly have you feeling the friendliest.

“I’m the Sheriff in town. I heard there was someone hanging around the Diner, who looked a little bit lost. Thought I’d stop by, offer you some help, see if we could get you on the road.”

“Actually, I think I’m just about done for the day,” you said with a long sigh. You set the cup down and went back to the burger, just hoping it was still as good as when you took the first few bites. “I appreciate any help you can give me, but I think getting on the road is off the table for tonight. I’ll probably crash at the motel and head out in the morning… I’ve still got a long ways to go, after all.”

“Well, if you hadn’t stomped all over your map I could show you that we’re actually pretty close to where you think you are. You could still make Rockland before midnight. No point sticking around a place you barely know, right?”

You raised an eyebrow. You weren’t exactly a suspicious person, but was there some kind of cult thing going on here? It was like the last thing this town wanted was a tourist.

“Sorry Sheriff,” you said after you finished your thought – and bite of burger – “I didn’t realize there was a law against bringing a little business to the local economy.”

“There isn’t,” she said hastily, still sounding quite short with you, “but I heard what Ruby said, and she’s right. We’re not exactly the most visited place in Maine, and I assume you’d like to get to where you were going as quickly as possible, right?”

“Well, I’m going to a family reunion, so… no, actually, I think I’d like to avoid it as long as possible,” you retorted with a smile.

She sighed and put her head down on her hands. “Yeah, tell me about it.”

You heard footsteps approaching from behind you; you were ready to assume it was another customer entering or leaving, but the voice that came was directed at your table.

“Ms. Swan, I see you’re busy having a field day with the citizenry again. Perhaps you’ve forgotten there are more important matters to attend to, like ensuring that no one can-“

“I know, I know. I promised I’d take a look at your security system Gold, and I will,” the Sheriff said, raising her hands. “Nobody will be able to get in again, I promise.”

“That’s all well and good, but… I’m sorry, I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Mr. Gold. I own most everything in Storybrooke. Sorry to interrupt your evening meal, but the Sheriff here is ignoring rather pertinent matters to harass newcomers.”

The man extended his hand to you; you thought about taking it, but had to first wipe your hand to ensure you didn’t cover what looked like a very expensive suit or the man’s hand in special sauce.

“Pleasure,” you said politely. “Nice to meet someone in this town who doesn’t run away at the first sign of a stranger. You’re only the second so far, besides the Sheriff here.”

“Yes, well, we don’t receive a lot of visitors.” What was up with that phrase? It seemed like everyone was operating on repeat around here. “Come by my shop later, Ms. Swan. You may already have realized this, but matters which require more _immediate_ attention have arisen quite recently.”

Did his eyes flicker to you? No, maybe it was just your imagination. Either way the elderly man strolled off moments later, only stopping to grab the arm of a younger woman who you assumed was his daughter before strolling out the door of the Diner. You turned your attentions back to the Sheriff, who was looking at you with a somewhat annoyed, but at least addressed you in a less brusque manner.

“Well, Miss Swan, can I spend the night? Or are you rounding up a posse to run me out before sundown?” You asked with a bit of humor.

She just sighed. “Of course you can stay. Come by the department tomorrow and I’ll give you directions out of here, if you haven’t figured it out by morning. I’ve got to go deal with Gold’s issues before he burns the whole town down.”

You rolled your eyes at the remark. “Really? You think he’d do something like that? He seemed pretty kind to me, compared to some of the treatments I’ve gotten.”

She looked you in the eyes, deadly serious, though her tone seemed almost joking. “Believe me, he’s tried to do it before.”

You weren’t sure if you believed her. You weren’t even sure if you liked her. But she was gone, anyway, leaving you in peace to enjoy your burger. It was a little cold, but still better than half the meals you’d had in your life. Including home cooked ones.

You’d just finished the last bite when a familiar face popped by – Granny, with the check in tow.

“Thought you looked like you were about done. Didn’t want anything else did you?”

You shook your head, wiping at your face with a napkin. She nodded, finishing up the bottom of the ticket.

“Good, all done then. Sheriff Swan told me on the way out you were looking for a room – we’ve got one available as it turns out, already got it set up. Swing on by the front desk after we close down and you can pick up your key.”

“Thanks a lot,” you said with a smile, grabbing the ticket as she pulled it off and handed it to you. “I appreciate the hospitality.”

“Of course, can’t be running off everyone who comes into town. You’re just about everyone, so we’d be off to a poor start,” Granny joked, chuckling as she slowly walked away.

You glanced down at the check and saw the bill. Expensive, for a burger, but far from unreasonable given the way Granny prepared the food. You were pulling out your wallet to pay when your eyes caught a faint writing toward the top, where most of the restaurant’s logo was.

It was barely there, but you did eventually realize what it was. Writing, on the back of the ticket. You flipped it over and saw it more clearly. It was still written in an ink color that nearly matched the paper, though, so it took you a few seconds to realize that you were looking at a phone number. And a note.

“Call me before you leave town tomorrow. I know a really cool place to swing by on your way out of the woods.”

You had few doubts about who it was from – only three people had really talked to you in a friendly way since you got here, only two of them would have access to the ticket, and you could only think one would even be interested. You looked up and, sure enough, the girl in the red leather pants was still behind the counter, quickly scribbling away at tickets for customers as they all started to shuffle out now that closing time was nearing.

Yet, you couldn’t help noticing the smile that crossed her face as soon as you looked up at her. Or the way she subtly cocked her hips toward you.

Well, this was probably going to be trouble. You glanced back down to the paper, and then tried to figure out what to do about it. Somehow, you figured either way you were going to end up on someone’s shit list by the end of tomorrow.


	2. A Night off the Town

You tried rolling over, wondering exactly why you were having such difficulties getting to sleep. It was a little brighter than you were used to, sure, and maybe it was just a touch too different from your home in terms of color and ambience, but it was by no means uncomfortable. There was a wolf howling, far off into the distance, and the moon was shining almost directly into your room it seemed like, but the reasons for your lack of sleep had nothing to do with the environment. Tiredness wasn’t the problem either; you couldn’t keep your eyes open, but neither could you manage to get your mind to drift off. You were beginning to settle in for a restless, tired night and a long, dreary morning. 

Partially you were a little worried about who you were going to run into tomorrow. The Sheriff? Almost certainly; she was the only one you could get to give you directions before you took off tomorrow. That wasn’t particularly inspiring, considering she was the one you most desired to avoid… and then there was the waitress. She was scantily clad, to say the least, and she seemed to have a habit of flirting with the men judging by what Granny had said… she was adventurous you supposed… and kind, helpful… and… she was…

Oh my god, you didn’t even know her name! And you hadn’t given her yours, how was she- how could she go and give you her phone number and ask you to meet up with her tomorrow?! This was how people wound up murdered, and- you weren’t even sure if it was you or her that was supposed to be more cautious, just that caution was distinctly lacking in that area.

Whatever. It was probably nothing anyway, just a little bit of a tease… maybe for tips, though Granny had sort’ve ruined that, hadn’t she? Maybe… whatever, this was too much thinking. You rolled over and tried to force yourself to just shut down.

After a few minutes the wolf started up howling again, though this time it sounded closer. The place you were staying at wasn’t that far from the edge of town yet… it sounded _too_ close. Almost as if the beast were inside the town lines. There may have been wolves around, but surely none _that_ unafraid of humans, right? Especially in a town this size; every now and then you could still hear cars coming through!

The howl, again. Even closer this time. That meant they were looking for their pack, right? Wasn’t that usually why wolves howled? Actually, you seemed to recall there being a few reasons why, but one being separated from the pack sounded about right. Another howl, this one virtually on the brink of the building it sounded like. You weren’t paranoid, but was it headed this way? You were on the first floor, and that didn’t build confidence… but come on, what kind of wolf was that brave that it could-

Glass shattered. You were suddenly up, bolting to a sitting position and nearly smashing your head against one of the protruding decorations on the headboard on your way up. The window, that was it – well, what was left of the window. Shards of glass glittered in the pale moonlight, and where the window once was, there was now a muzzle.

The muzzle of something far too large to be an ordinary wolf.

Despite its breaking and entering, though, it made no more aggressive action. It sniffed the air a few times, while keeping its eyes firmly locked onto your form. You backed up against the headboard, wishing desperately for something, someone, _anything_ of use to be in this room, or at least something else made of meat that wasn’t you!

It whined softly, somehow managing to fit through the window. Well, not exactly “fit”, quite, as you could hear the wood creaking and snapping as the massive form forced its way through. You thought about bolting for the door, but it was all the way across the side of the room, and the wolf was partially in between you and it. By the time you’d have gotten halfway there it would have already freed itself from the frame, and even if it hadn’t its body was long enough you were sure it could reach.

So it was with trepidation that you tried to crawl under the sheets as much as possible, holding the pillow like a shield, hoping it could buy you at least a few seconds. You wanted to shout, call for help, but for some reason were absolutely transfixed on the eyes of the beast. They were golden, round, and… almost human in their depth. The wolf padded slowly toward you, head down, constantly smelling the air.

When it got to the bed – which you were now partially off of, all the way on the other edge and jammed as far into the wall as you could force yourself – it put its two front paws up and leaned closer. It whined quietly, tilting its head as it leaned closer. Now, you weren’t much for animal signs, and maybe you were crazy… but so was a wolf breaking into a random hotel room in the middle of the night in a very crowded city. It did NOT seem unfriendly.

You reached out a hand, slowly, as if in a trance. The wolf flinched away when it came close, and you had to freeze in place, but it slowly reached back when you stopped. You didn’t have to move then; the wolf leaned its head in and slowly nuzzled against your palm. You gently curled in your fingers and scratched it behind the ears, quite certain you’d never imagined your night in the town could get any stranger.

The wolf pulled back after a few seconds, getting off of the bed. It tilted its head back toward the window and howled to the moon, the voice seeming to echo several times in the small room.

You looked around, a little sheepishly. “Well… if they didn’t hear the window,” you murmured, crawling to the edge and stepping off the bed slowly. The wolf kept its eyes glued to you, but made no move to walk away. You stepped over and leaned down, once again running a hand along it. The wolf’s dark fur was amazingly soft. If you didn’t know better, you’d almost think it conditioned.

The door handle creaked then. The wolf’s head snapped to the side, and it glared at the handle. Hair began to stand up on its neck, and you instinctively pulled your hand back, getting off the bed and standing up like lightning. The sudden movement didn’t seem to agitate it like you were afraid it would, but the opening door more than took care of that.

“What in the name of King Charming is- what the hell’s going on in here?!”

The voice was Granny’s, you couldn’t mistake it. As she pushed open the door what did surprise you was the crossbow she was holding in her hands, pointing it upward surprisingly quickly when she saw the wolf in the room with you. The wolf whined, but it turned into a low growl when a second figure stepped into the doorway.

“What the hell? Ru- Rumor has it we had a burglar, but this…” The sheriff seemed to almost be stumbling over her words, completely at a loss for what to say. You couldn’t exactly claim that you were much better off, though…

“I know, right?” You said, kind of dazed. You reached down and scratched behind the ears of the wolf, and got a softer growl in reply, very non-threatening as far as you dared guess. You’d already gone to eye level with the beast and come back with all your fleshy bits intact, so you were honestly starting to become numb to the fear. “It… it doesn’t _seem_ like it’s trying to eat me, but I have _no idea_ why it crawled in here, it broke the window and everything.”

“Yeah, I can see that. I wonder why?” Did her voice sound accusing? Whatever the case, the Sheriff took a step or two forward, reaching an arm out toward you. “Look, just to be safe, why don’t you come over here with me and we can get you another room. Maybe the _wolf_ will _leave through the window_ , and _go back_ to where it belongs.”

The hostility returned instantly. The wolf gave one growl, low and warning, and then when the Sheriff kept reaching forward it lunged. The blonde woman pulled her hand back just in time as the edge of the muzzle bit down where the fleshy appendage had been only moments before. She gasped, looking at the wolf in the eyes as if she were personally offended.

“Hey, woah!” You shouted, leaning down and hugging around the wolf’s neck. You had no idea what possessed you to do it; this was still a wild animal. It turned as soon as it felt the pressure, with surprising strength. You were off balance and the motion threw you completely backwards, stumbling until you hit the corner of the bed. Your knees buckled before you could even think about stopping yourself, and over the corner you went, your butt bouncing on the soft bed, while your back fell onto the air on the other side of the corner.

The last thing you saw was the magnificent wallpaper, and something red flying through the air as your unprepared skull smashed into the room’s hard wooden floor.


	3. Hypocritical Oath

“It was _my_ fault! I did this! Why won’t you let me help?!”

“I think you’ve done quite enough, miss! Why would you go running around like that in the first place?”

“Look I don’t know, I…”

…

“I just lost control.”

“You don’t _lose_ control. You haven’t since the first time after the curse!”

“I know, but it was like… I got this scent, and it took over. I remember everything, but it wasn’t me, _I_ wasn’t _me_!”

“We’ll get this figured out later, but for now…”

~~~~~~~

“I don’t think you’re quite aware of the issue at hand here, Ms. Swan.”

“Look, just admit it Gold, you made a mistake.”

“I don’t _make_ mistakes. Things happen because I wanted them to, or because I was not made properly aware of the circumstances. Now what aren’t you telling me?”

“Whatever you say, Gold. There’s nothing to be told. As far as we can tell, there’s…”

~~~~~~~

“Oh god, my head,” you grumbled as you slowly opened your eyes. The room was dim, but barely lit overhead. You were incredibly thankful for that, because even that tiny amount of light was enough to give you trouble keeping your eyes open for quite a while until they managed to adjust. You felt around while you were waiting to be able to properly see, and found that you were in some kind of a railed bed. The lights, the massive amount of white surrounding you… the last thing you remembered… it didn’t take much to realize that you were in a hospital.

The first thing you did upon realizing that was feel around for your innards. Thankfully, they remained innards, not outtards. You supposed that meant the wolf hadn’t had any part of you for a snack when you were passed out, not that you were entirely certain it had intended to anyway.

“What- oh, you’re awake. Wonderful.”

The voice that greeted you was unfamiliar. You saw across the room why that was – a man in a white lab coat was there, some kind of doctor. He promptly strolled over and pulled your chart off of the bottom of your bed, scribbling something down on the bottom.

“My name is Doctor Whale. I’ve been looking after you ever since the Sheriff brought you in. Looks like the injury wasn’t nearly as bad as we expected… do you remember what happened to you?”

“I uh, I… I remember a wolf breaking into my room. And then I fell over, and… well, that’s about it.”

“Not a bad summary, according to the Sheriff,” Whale said calmly, finishing up his work and hooking the chart back over the edge of the bed. “We gave you a quick scan while you were out and we can deliver a whole bunch of tests, but it doesn’t even look like you got a concussion. Just a bit of bad luck and a really eventful night.”

You sighed. That was a little bit too accurate, and yet somehow just not nearly enough to describe it. Whale mumbled a few more bits of medical jargon and then was gone shortly afterward, mentioning something about getting the others, or at least that’s what it sounded like. You didn’t think that comment was actually directed at you.

You sat there in silence for a while longer, not sure what to do with yourself. Honestly, you felt fine, and it wasn’t like you were actually in any danger, so maybe they’d let you check out and get the hell out of dodge before something else insane happened to you in this town.

But it wasn’t the doctor who came back. It was, of all people, the waitress. She was actually wearing something a little bit different, long black pants (which were still leather), and a red button-up shirt with a strange black hat. Over it all was the strangest part… a red cloak, velvety and soft-looking, although it seemed somehow of an extremely high quality.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” She asked, leaning against the door frame. In her hand she held a wicker basket with a soft cloth over the top. When you saw it, you couldn’t help but chuckle.

“I’m… okay, I think? I don’t know, the doctor was in here a little bit ago. He told me that I was pretty much fine, but that they were going to run some more tests.”

She stepped over to the edge of the bed and stood by the foot of it, laying the basket down on the floor. “Is there something funny about my outfit? I don’t get that reaction a whole lot.”

“Nothing, I just…” you smiled and pointed to the cloak. “The basket, the cloak… I thought it reminded me a little bit of Red Riding Hood. Silly, I know.”

“Yeah, silly,” she said with an eye roll, “Just something I wear when it’s a little chilly out, and I was planning on being out all day, so I thought I’d wear it just in case I was out past sunset.”

“Sounds good. Good to be safe. If I’d been a little safer, I’d probably not be here. Then again, just how safe can you really be when a wolf walks into your room?” You laughed a little at the non-joke. She just chuckled and looked down to the floor, clearly not amused. You decided to move on. “So, why did you drop by?”

“Uh, well, the basket’s actually for you,” she said quietly, holding it out. “It’s kind of our way of saying ‘sorry a wolf got you put in the hospital while you were staying in our hotel’. Congratulations, it’s the first one we’ve ever given out.”

“Not surprising… I feel kind of embarrassed though,” you said as she handed you the basket. You took it and put it on the table, noting quickly that a very delicious scent was emerging from between the white cloth folded on top.

“Why’s that? Afraid to show weakness after the big bad Sheriff challenged you?” She asked, snickering.

You rolled your eyes. “Not even. I just… how many people get to say they survived an encounter with a wolf? Sounds pretty awesome, honestly. Got the battle scar and everything to show for it, I’m sure…” Your hand touched at the back of your head as you continued, “but I didn’t even get hurt by the wolf. I fell over, smacked my head on the floor, and woke up here. Not exactly a thrilling story. I mean, this town’s so quiet even the animal attacks are tame.”

“A long way from tame,” she muttered, so low you were sure she was talking to herself. “Well, hopefully you can have some more excitement soon. I think-“

“Ruby? What are you doing here?”

The voice was familiar, but you couldn’t quite place it until you looked over and saw the blonde-haired Sheriff leaning one arm up against the door frame.

“I, uh, I was just coming by to make sure that there weren’t any bad feelings. You know, about a wolf coming into one of our guests’ rooms while they were staying in our hotel,” Ruby said quickly, giving a soft smile to the sheriff that looked somehow feral at the same time. Was she defensive?

“Well, I don’t think visitors should be in here right now,” the Sheriff said quietly, stepping over to the foot of the bed. Something rumbled as she brushed against it, but it didn’t feel like the bed had caused the vibration. Ruby looked away from the Sheriff and strode to the doorway.

“Enjoy the treats,” she said quickly. “And I hope you enjoyed… _most_ of your stay in Storybrooke!”

Then she was gone, and you were left alone with the Sheriff. You gave her a quizzical look and crossed your arms over your chest expectantly.

“Don’t look at me like I’m the bad guy, you’re still getting tests run. I had to fight past Whale just to get clearance to talk to you; Ruby must have slipped in without permission.”

Somehow you doubted she had to fight very hard to get let in. She seemed like she had a pretty good handle on the people around here, whether that was a sign of respect or fear… well, it didn’t really matter, since you were hoping to be out of there before too long.

“So, Miss Swan, what exactly did you battle the evil Dr. Whale just to come talk to me about?” You said pompously, interlacing your fingers for good measure.

“Just wanted to ask a few questions. Seems like you had a rough night, and I don’t want to make your day any worse, so how about we make this quick? Just tell me everything you can remember, if that bump to the head didn’t wipe out your memory.”

“No, I think it’s pretty clear. Pretty well burned in there, honestly, but I guess it’s hard to forget a night like that.” You added a laugh for good effect, but if anything the Sheriff looked exasperated. “I was trying to sleep, but it wasn’t very easy. Couldn’t ever quite make it. Started hearing this wolf howling, coming from way off in the distance, slow and steady. Eventually it started getting closer, and I thought that it almost sounded like it was inside the town’s border, but… at the time it seemed crazy to think one would come so close.”

There was no response from the Sheriff, so you just kept going. “I tried to ignore it even when it sounded like it was right outside, but a minute later I heard the window shatter. When I looked over, there was this great big lupine thing in the window, staring right at me with these big, golden eyes. They were… strange. I don’t know. Almost human, with how much emotion they had. And pretty.”

“Don’t flatter it, just describe it,” Sheriff Swan said dryly, looking quite impatient.

“Alright, calm down. This is a real train-of-thought thing,” you countered, rolling your eyes. “I knew I couldn’t make it to the door before it came through so I tried to hide in the corner of the bed, covered myself up and used the pillow as a shield. It came over, though, and got up on the bed. It didn’t try to bite me, didn’t even growl, it kind of whined. It seemed really friendly, so… for some reason I just thought it was a really good idea to touch it. It was weird, I was so afraid, but something calmed me down in that moment. Usually when I’m afraid, I end up lashing out; I’ve even blacked out before.”

“Really? Sounds like you’ve got some kind of condition. Are you sure you remember all this clearly? You never blacked out?”

You shook your head. “Trust me, you’d know if I did; I don’t pass out, just black out my memory and get really aggressive. Usually I end up attacking whatever scared me; I put a guy in the hospital once in New York when he threatened me for my watch.”

You didn’t mention he never made it out. Before the perceptive Sheriff could ask too many more questions, you kept going and brushed past it.

“But… like I said, none of that. I actually pet it, and that’s when it howled. A couple moments later you came in, started yelling about burglars, that’s when it got defensive and… well, who am I kidding, you know how it went from there. Probably more than I do. You didn’t hurt it, did you?”

Miss Swan looked a little shocked that you’d ask that. “Uh, no. Actually it kind of disappeared right after you got taken out. Didn’t attack anyone else, either, so no need to organize a search party – no wolves with a taste for human flesh here.”

“Good. Strange thing, I’ve always kind of liked wolves.”

You thought you heard giggling. But by the time you looked up it was silenced, and the Sheriff was looking at you stone cold. Her gaze flickered to the door, as Whale walked in.

“Are you almost finished, Sheriff?” He questioned while staring at a clipboard, making a few small marks here and there.

“All done, actually. Looks like it was just a run-of-the-mill animal encounter.”

“Good. Your tests are all clear, I’m prescribing you a week’s worth of a mild pain medication to make sure you don’t develop or can at least tolerate any headaches, and I can start filing for your release immediately. You should be on the road in less than an hour,” Whale said with a smile, then immediately made for the door, along with the Sheriff.

“Wait, that’s it?” You questioned slowly. “I can take a hit, but I thought you were still gonna run blood tests on me.”

“Oh, turns out the lab had a little bit left over from what we had to take while you were out,” he said calmly, smiling all the while. But did his eyebrow twitch a little? No, surely not. You needed to stop being so suspicious. That and your temper had gotten you in a lot of trouble before. “I had them get all the testing done with that instead of drawing new blood. You kind of lunged at me when I took the blood before, even unconscious. Quite scary.”

He was smiling, but he sounded awfully serious. What the hell? As they turned and left, you just shook your head and found yourself surprisingly grateful to finally be getting out of there. Alone, and with nothing else to do, you dug into the basket at your bedside, wondering what smelled so delicious. The first thing you pulled out was a take-out box, with the odor of fast food. Good fast food, though. Cracking it open you saw one of Granny’s burgers… a little odd for a picnic basket, but you weren’t picky. With that out of the way the scents of cinnamon, maple, and something vaguely… citrus-y were coming up. When you reached back in, though, instead of food your hands found paper.

Your eyebrows knitted together. Pulling it free you found a delicately folded piece of paper, with what you quickly found upon flattening it out was a handwritten note in surprisingly ragged handwriting.

_”Still want to meet you on your way out of town. Bring the basket with you.”_

You gave a long sigh and replaced the note quickly. She was a nice young girl. Shame she was so reckless. Didn’t she realize that she barely knew you, and that this was incredibly risky? Granted, you barely knew her too. But somehow she seemed like the more likely to get hurt if you two met up.

Right? Yeah, probably right.


	4. Out of the Fire, Into the Frying Pan

God, but did it feel good to be on the road again! After nearly half an hour of paperwork and discharge forms, you were finally out of the hospital and ready to be on the road again. It was a little weird the route you were taking out of there – and you felt like you’d ended up on entirely the wrong side of Maine somehow, which you still had no idea how that happened – but at least it was a route. 

The Sheriff had even highlighted it without too many snarky comments. She seemed just as happy to see you going as you’d been to leave in the first place. You were fine with that; the more she wanted you gone the faster she worked, and you were halfway expecting to be jumped if you stayed in this town much longer. Of course, depending on who did the jumping…

You shook your head and refocused on the road, quite certain you did not need a crash after how hard you’d work to get here. Besides, who was really going to stop you now? The city limits were just ahead, and nobody was following you out of –

A flash of red, on the road ahead. It was almost unmistakable – you slammed on the breaks as the girl wearing the cloak stepped onto the road from the tree line. You didn’t comprehend it until later, too busy trying to bring your car to a halt in half the distance that was probably safe for the brakes, but you realized when your heart stopped trying to pry open your ribcage that she was smiling the entire time.

She ran up to the side of your stopped car, smirking and tapping frantically on the window. You could barely hear her through the glass, especially with the blood pumping in your ears, but it looked like she was saying ‘long time no see’.

When you got enough function back to figure out how to press a button, you rolled the window down and stared at the woman in slack-jawed amazement. She didn’t seem very bothered by it at all.

“Wh-what are you doing out here?” You asked incredulously.

She rolled her eyes. “I thought _that_ much was obvious; I told you to catch me on your way out of town, didn’t I? You never did call.”

“Sorry, the whole… head wound thing must have gotten to me. Promise I didn’t mean to offend. Ruby, right?”

“Yeah, that’s me. Glad to see you remembered; we’ve been cut a little short the last two times we met, so I didn’t exactly get to tell you formally. Not that I’ve ever been _that_ big on formality.”

“Free spirit, huh? Well, I’d love to say I’m the same way, but if I don’t get on the road today, I’m sure I’ll never hear the end of just how late I really was, so… I guess this is just our chance to say goodbye.”

She looked actually sad – her face didn’t show it, but her eyes fell so much you noticed it easily. She still kept her smile, and opened up your car door for you, taking away your armrest.

“I told you we were gonna see the forest didn’t I? Come on, I’ll get you on the road by the end of the day. We’ve got a whole basket worth of food to eat.”

“Promise?”

The word left your lips almost unbidden. You weren’t even sure why – it felt like it came without thought. You hadn’t considered her offer yet, you’d barely even heard it, yet here you were already agreeing, all thought of caution just whispers in the back of your mind.

“Promise,” she followed up. Her smile was so nice you didn’t even question it as you put the car in reverse, pulled off to the side of the road, and slid out of the driver’s seat as if it was one fluid motion. You weren’t even sure if she took your hand in hers, or if it was the other way around. All you remembered was the smile that crossed both of your faces as you turned toward the trees.

“So, is the food as good as the basket you left in the hospital? Because I’m not going to lie, that was some of the best food I’ve ever had.”

“Don’t tell Granny, but I do pay attention sometimes,” Ruby said with a loud chuckle. You rolled your eyes and looked deeper on into the woods.

“Now, would you care to show me what’s so special about this forest? You practically made it sound magical,” you chuckled as you both strolled out into the woods.

“You might just think that too by the time we’re done,” she said, replying with an equally happy giggle. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

“This… this _is_ magical!” Your voice was filled with wonder as you stared out across the meadow. It was tucked away, hidden in the forest and no more than fifty feet wide, maybe a little smaller. And it was one of the most beautiful places you had ever seen.

The sunlight filtering through the trees was obscured by the many, many leaves of the early summer. It was bright enough that you could see everything perfectly clearly, but dim enough that the lines formed where the light directly touched were crystal clear, and as they danced and shimmered with the breeze, you got the wonderful pleasure of watching a crystal-clear stream gushing out away from the town and off downhill. The place was oddly quiet, even the birds remaining almost silent, but the trickling of water was enough to keep it from becoming uncomfortably silent. 

“Are you ready for some… pretty cold home cooking?” Ruby said, pulling the cloth off the top of the basket.

“Really? Cold? Here I am feeling pretty overheated,” you said with the best fake nervousness you could muster.

She laughed so hard she snorted, covering up her mouth. When she finally regained her composure she quickly started waving at you in as best a calming gesture as she could.

“S-sorry, I just… after you went face-to-face with a wolf and didn’t back down, I kind of have a hard time imagining me intimidating you much.”

You shook your head and rested it in your hands for a moment, feigning embarrassment. “Well, to be fair,” you said, muffled by your own shirt, “the worst thing the wolf could do to me was just to eat me.”

“What could I possibly do,” she said, sitting down beside you and placing the basket between your sitting spots, “that would be so much worse than death?”

“Well, for starters, you could leave.”

You reflexively flinched – that was forward, blunt even, especially for a first date and a third meeting. One you hadn’t even intended to have. Instead of looking creeped out, or at least a little shocked, she just looked surprised, blinking a few times. You both stared at each other for a long moment, you waiting to see her reaction, and she-

She dove at you like a wild animal. Well, not really; she didn’t go all the way, but she lunged across the picnic basket, setting her hand on your side of it for balance while she plunged her lips against yours. When the shock passed you found yourself using your own arm for balance as she pressed her face to yours, savagely. Whatever hesitance had been there once faded away even faster after you started to return the affection. Your lips danced against each other, soft and wet skin sliding rampantly against each other for what felt like the briefest of seconds before she pulled back.

“I’m…” she hesitated, taking a deep breath as she looked into your eyes. “…sorry?”

She sounded like she wasn’t sorry at all, but rather like she wanted to know if you were. You’d thought your lips had given a pretty solid answer on that front. Why you’d given that particular answer, you still weren’t sure. It was like the moment you’d set foot in these woods you’d gone off the deep end. Then again, so far you’d had no desire to climb out.

“Don’t be,” you said quietly. “That was… intense.”

“Yeah… I don’t usually do stuff like that, I swear, but you just... you really bring out the wild side in me, you know?” she chuckled, brushing at her hair nervously, perhaps for the first time appearing to be legitimately hesitant.

“Well, I guess I have to say the same thing, considering how we got here,” you said quietly, smiling the whole while. “But I think we ought to get into this food before it gets any colder.”

“Good idea. Try this bread, it’s Granny’s personal recipe. They say it tastes so sweet it’s like baked candy.”

“Not as sweet as you, I’ll bet.”

But when you took a bite out of the roll she promptly threw at your head, you had to say it was… at least a close second.


	5. Up, Up, and Right Back Here.

The sun was almost setting, and you still found yourself hard-pressed to leave the forest. Partially it was because there was still food – turned out the basket had been stuffed with more than enough for two people. Mostly, it was because of how hard-pressed your lips were. Against hers. Repeatedly. Well, infrequently repeatedly. It never happened in any planned way; your hands would brush accidentally, or you would both reach for the same thing. Sometimes it was just when you both tried to talk at the same time. 

It never made sense, and you suspected it didn’t to her either, but neither of you was fighting it. Every time, you wondered why you did it, and told yourself next time you’d think it through. But without fail, the next time you’d lose all coherency and then find yourself pressing desperately against her. Neither of you brought up questions about it, or really even mentioned it after the first time. It was a kind of mutual understanding between the two of you; it was right, and you didn’t want to ruin it with questions.

But you still had to leave, eventually, one way or the other. As much as you didn’t want to, you had a life to return to outside of here… but now, you had something to return to here, as well, and you made that perfectly clear as you packed up the basket, the cloth, and what scraps of food the two of you hadn’t consumed yet.

“You’re sure you’re going to come back? Promise you won’t let the Sheriff scare you off?”

“I promise,” you said confidently. “I have to go to this silly family thing up north, but I’ll swing by on the way back in a couple days, and I only live a couple hours from here… maybe we could meet halfway?”

“That… doesn’t work out for me,” she said, very reluctantly. “I’m not allowed to leave the town.”

“Granny that strict on you, huh?” You said with an understanding smile.

“Yeah, something like that. I understand if-“

“Don’t even bother,” you interrupted, putting a finger over her lips. She growled a little and swatted your hand away playfully. “It’s only an extra couple hours; I may not be able to make it as often as I’d _like_ , but I’ll be damned if I’m not making it.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it,” she said with a smile. She leaned in and gave you a softer kiss, this one on the cheek. “Sorry about this not being exactly what you planned.”

“Plans are overrated.”

You made your way back across the stream and into the woods. You weren’t sure how far in you had both come, but by the time you started to feel like you were approaching the road again, the sun had already set and the moon was starting to rise in the distance. Ruby had taken the lead, but even she seemed a little nervous; not totally hard to understand given the fact that there were apparently _feral goddamn wolves_ in this part of the state. You didn’t even think wolves were supposed to be in Maine anymore – didn’t they all die out?

All but one, apparently.

No matter how much light faded though she always seemed to know her way, with far more confidence than her face indicated. You could actually hear the distant sound of the city when you saw a light flashing not too far ahead in the woods.

“Hey, look, must be the highway!” You said with a bit of excitement, aided in part by your own nervousness.

“No, we’re not that close, it’s – Emma?”

The name was unfamiliar to you, and in the darkness it was nearly impossible to recognize the figure, but the voice that replied was clear to recognize as soon as you heard it.

“Ruby? What are you doing out here?!”

Was that panic? Okay, so maybe you’d had an encounter with one of the last timber wolves of Maine, but were the woods really that dangerous? Oh. Well, now that you thought about it, she did walk into the woods… now at night… with someone she’d just met. Maybe the Sheriff’s concern wasn’t, you know, _totally_ invalid.

“I just… you know, out for a walk?” she said innocently.

“Miss Swan, look, I can-“

“You, stay out of this,” she said, pointing her finger at you as if you were some kind of criminal. “As for you, Ruby, don’t you know better than this? I thought the hospital was bad enough, but now-“

“Hold on here,” you said, stepping in front of Ruby as if to shield her, though really you were quite a bit more worried about defending your pride, considering how unlikely there was to be any physical threat from a Sheriff. “Now, I get it, we’re not exactly old friends, but I’m no criminal or a… well, whatever you seem to think I am. We were on our way out, I’m leaving town at least for the next couple days before I come back, so-“

“You’re coming back? Ruby, what are you _doing_ out here?!” The Sheriff seemed… disturbingly flustered by that. In fact, you were actually pretty insulted. Why was you staying such a big deal? Why was she taking so much offense to your _presence_? Anger started to boil up in you… and you instinctively beat it down, flashes of red entering your vision already.

“Listen, Emma, I can… no, I can’t explain, okay? Just trust me, let me handle this. I wanted to say a real goodbye, and then we came out here and it just worked out this way, okay?! I don’t know how it happened!”

“Neither do I, but… is this bad? Why are you getting so worked up?’

 _”No reason at all!_ ” Emma shouted, almost sarcastically in how obvious the lie was, but she immediately moved on. “Listen, Ruby, I get it, I do, but you… you can’t just do this on a whim! Do you even realize what you’re getting yourself into?”

“I’m not a child, Emma! I get enough of that from Granny,” Ruby said with a huff. Even their calm words were getting louder now, to the point that they were nearly shouting. You were in a forest, so they couldn’t make a scene, but something still unnerved you as you looked about. In the distance, birds shrieked, an almost unnatural sound. Were they even birds?

“You don’t have to be a child to make a mistake, Ruby. Do you realize the kind of risks you’re taking here?”

“Hey, for the last time, I’m not a-“

The screech that came from above was definitely not a bird. In fact, you weren’t even sure if it was an animal; it sounded like a human mixed with the most animalistic and ear-splitting scream you could possibly imagine coming from the most destroyed machine you’d ever seen. What was worse was the fact that it was clearly overhead… though, if hard-pressed for an answer, you’d say the worst things were the claws that dug into your shoulders as you felt your legs start to leave the ground.

“Ahh!” You couldn’t help the cry of pain; it was too fast and entirely too unexpected for you to hold it in. You looked up and your mouth dropped open – whatever anger and fear had been building in you as a natural response to pain was even suppressed for a moment, as you tried to figure out exactly _what_ was lifting you.

As if the claws and the ability to fly with a human in its grip wasn’t enough, the thing looked like a sick and twisted creature from a vampire movie. It had gray skin across most of its body, and what wasn’t skin were dark and moldy-looking feathers. It had an extremely skinny human body, complete with talon-tipped feet that were dug deep into your shoulder muscles and raggedy hair that fell down to its midsection. Worst though was the mouth; rather than human teeth it seemed to have a mouth like a leech's. Wide, round, and filled with long, sharp teeth. Judging by the way it was gnashing it, though, you doubted it was a bloodsucker. More like an eviscerating machine.

“What the fuck is this?!” You were struggling to free yourself, but you couldn’t do so very hard; its claws were long, and every time you tried to put force against them, you pulled on the other side, sending searing pain through your body. Your head was pounding, and you were starting to feel like you were going to pass out. Everything was turning red, when all of a sudden a swift blow to your back knocked the wind out of you, set you free of the vicious talons that were holding you, and left you staring upward into the sky... where a wolf was dive-tackling a bird-woman out of the air. It was hard to see in the dark of night, but it seemed almost supernaturally easy to spot the action. The wolf was on top of the creature, and really, really going at it, tearing with teeth and claws in equal measure. Normally, this would’ve been an incredible sight all on its own.

But you didn’t miss the red cloak that was fluttering to the ground, or the shout from the Sheriff nearby.

“Ruby!”

The wolf didn’t stop, didn’t hesitate, but you saw its ears twitch at least a little as it bit into the flesh. The flying thing had long since stopped moving, but you weren’t paying attention to the cessation of movement. Much like the wolf, you were extremely focused. You stood up to your feet, wounds forgotten. The Sheriff seemed to notice this, moving over towards you and saying things you couldn’t hear. It was like your eardrums had been ruptured; everything around you was little better than a dull thrum in comparison to the ringing that had filled your mind. You walked forward in a trance and didn’t stop until you were only a few feet away from the wolf.

You went to your knees and felt a strange pressure on your arm. You looked back and realized that Sheriff Swan was holding you by your wrist. You hadn’t felt it, hadn’t even noticed the pressure… which was especially strange, considering you would’ve thought she could at least put up a fight if she were really trying to hold someone back. It didn’t matter. You looked ahead and focused on the wolf, ignoring the Sheriff’s pleas. Though your peripheral could catch the jagged movements of her jaw, your eyes saw only the ebony wolf in front of you.

It looked up eventually, long after even the creature’s spasms had ended. Its muzzle was covered in blood, and its fur stood on end, but there was no mistaking it. This was the wolf from the hotel, the one that had come in through the window. And… you could see it in the eyes. If the cloak, the disappearance of your friend, the Sheriff’s own words and concern hadn’t been enough, that raw emotion was more than proof enough for you.

It was Ruby.

You extended one hand, flattening your palm. Just like that night. She stared for a long moment and began walking up. It was slow, hesitant, and incredibly unsure, nothing like the confidence it had possessed the last time you’d met it. But when you didn’t flinch even a little, your own surety seemed to rub off. You looked into her eyes and saw the passion, the raw emotion you two had been sharing all day, in its most open and unhidden form yet.

And when she touched her forehead to your palm again, some small part of you wondered how you’d ever failed to notice in the first place.


	6. City Counsel

You barely remembered the way back to town. You did remember you didn’t drive – the Sheriff had personally insisted on taking you back. Something about explanations, and answers, and you really didn’t care what she had to say honestly. There was nothing that could change what had just happened. Nothing that could alter what had occurred in the forest back there. Your life would never be the same after witnessing that.

Oh, and the monster attacking you was pretty important too.

Sheriff Swan had been a real killjoy and insisted that Ruby sit up front, with her. Neither of them was really speaking to you much, other than the occasional few words to ask about your shoulders. Ruby was casting you quite a few glances, though, and seemed to be quite concerned. You thought about talking to her, despite the Sheriff’s occasional glares when Ruby dared to question your injuries, but couldn’t even begin to find the words.

When the car finally came to a stop, you stumbled out as soon as your door was opened. Emma caught you by the collar while Ruby wrapped her arms around your chest… at least, until Emma brushed her away.

“What’s going on, Emma?”

A woman with short, black hair strolled up, looking quite worried. Beside her was a man close beside her, their arms interlocked as they approached. They both had very obvious concern in their faces. Why, you weren’t certain. Emma must have called ahead, if everyone in town already knew about the attack.

“Something attacked us,” Ruby said quietly. She seemed almost ashamed of that fact. “It… it tried to take… I just…”

“Ruby turned in front of our new visitor,” Emma finished.

“Oh my god!”

“We need to have a town meeting. No telling how many more of them are out there,” Emma cautioned, looking back toward the forest briefly. “Call everyone. And someone find Gold, he’s-“

“Excuse me, Miss Swan, I think I’ll take it from here.”

The man from the restaurant stepped forward. You recognized him immediately by his cane, and the way he dressed himself. His mannerisms helped matters as well. Now that you thought about it, he was pretty unforgettable.

“Gold, any idea what could’ve done this?”

“Tell me what attacked you, girl,” Gold said as he moved closer to Ruby. Despite that, he was staring quite intently at the piercing wounds on your shoulders.

“I think I know what it was,” she said quickly. “I saw a few of them when I was out exploring, around the time Snow and I were running from the Queen. They were these big things that looked like humans, but with wings instead of arms, and these huge teeth. Looked like they could tear just about as much flesh as any wolf.”

“Aye, and they would have, if they’d managed to carry this one off,” Gold muttered as he glanced at you. “It’s not hard to guess what they are, based on your description. They’re harpies, vicious flesheating creatures that make their lairs underground and fly out at night in search of prey. If there’s a nest of them about, could be anywhere from a dozen to a few hundred right under our feet at this very moment.”

“But how can that be? We would’ve had to see them by now, right?” The Sheriff was being pretty logical by what you figured.

“I certainly didn’t run into any since I got here,” you added with a shrug. Gold rolled his eyes.

“Well, as you can imagine, they tend to prefer prey that isn’t quite so… _feisty_ as a werewolf or the Dark One. No, they’ve probably been in Storybrooke ever since the curse was cast. But because of our _guest_ ,” he said with a pointed, and angry glance toward you, “I worked a few extra spells into the barrier around Storybrooke, as you and I discussed, Miss Swan.”

“S-spells? Like, magic? Real magic?” You asked, taking a half-step back.

“Yes, magic. Bit more complex than a simple werewolf. Turning people into snails, balls of fire, all the classics. I could give a demonstration if you’d like,” Gold snarled, tilting his head as he glared into your eyes.

“Back off, Gold,” the Sheriff said, actually protecting you for perhaps the first time. Your faith in Law Enforcement was already soaring… not.

“Considering that the last time someone from this world came in, my grandson was kidnapped and _I died_ , you’ll forgive me if I’m a bit hostile,” Gold said with an eyeroll. “Regardless, the extra spells were not only to keep people out, but to keep anyone from the Enchanted Forest in. Make sure no one crossed the border by accident, or by someone else’s hand as Belle did. No precautions were too great for this one, since apparently my previous efforts still allowed _this one_ in. Nobody in without a spell, and only people from this world would be able to get out. That way we don’t have any more… memory problems.

“The harpies have likely been travelling outside the town’s borders ever since we first arrived here, hunting for prey. They’re intelligent, but they’re little more than beasts; it’s likely the Curse doesn’t affect their memories the way it does ours, if at all, so they’d know to avoid humans for easier prey, even roadkill. They’re used to being hunted, it’s even a part of their instincts, not mere memories. But when I reinforced the barrier as we’d discussed…”

“They couldn’t get out anymore, and they started hunting for whatever they could get. Gold, we have to undo those spells, at least until we can get rid of the harpies.”

“No can do, Miss Swan, they’re too strong to be removed at a whim. I’m sure you’re aware I rarely do things halfheartedly. It will take time to remove the reinforcements, especially given that they were designed to interweave with the Curse and its boundaries. By the time I can properly remove them, there will be a small army of harpies tearing this town apart, starting with the tastiest. The children.”

“Great, so what do we do?” Emma said, sighing and putting her head in her hands.

“Round up the Dwarves, Charming, everyone else who might be able to handle a weapon. Then raze the nests and make sure every egg is dashed against the rocks.”

“I’ll help. I already killed one of them,” Ruby said without hesitation, stepping forward.

“Aye, and you’ll be more useful helping us track than playing around with your new toy up here,” Gold said derisively.

Ruby growled.

“Easy, easy. Look, Mary Margaret and I will go find David and tell everyone in town what’s going on. Ruby, do you think you can use their scent to try finding where the entrance to their nests are?”

“I can try. Not sure how much of a scent they’ll leave if they’re flying around all the time, but their homes should smell an awful lot like them,” Ruby said with a quick nod. A moment later she was dashing off into the woods, brave as ever… a part of you wanted to run after her; the other part never wanted to go into that forest again.

“Gold, can you start working on a solution to our other problem?” Emma said quietly, looking him over.

“Already solved,” he said quite happily, “it’ll all be settled when we’re ready to cross that bridge.”

“Good.” Turning to you, she quickly continued. “Until all this is sorted out you need to stay here, in town. Take your room at Granny’s, tell her the Sheriff’s requisitioning it. She won’t give you any issues. I promise we’ll have you on the road as soon as these things are dealt with.”

“I don’t know if I want to… I mean, I was only rushing out of here because of the reunion thing. Unless you guys are leaving right now,” you said, pausing to check, “I’m not gonna make it on time. I mean, I can pay for the room, it’s just-“

“That won’t be necessary,” Gold said quietly, eyeing you with not a moderate amount of… something. The man’s face had gone suddenly unreadable. “Everything will be taken care of. Tonight.”

“Gold, just make sure everyone in town stays safe until we figure out what’s going on. Don’t do anything rash, and don’t let anyone go wandering off,” Emma said quickly, pointing at him as she started to run off. The black-haired woman followed her, and they were both gone in moments. With everyone else taking off except for Gold, you found it rather prudent to dismiss yourself… quickly.

“I’ll… uh, I’ll see you later,” you said quietly, as you turned away.

“Oh yes,” you heard his voice echo behind you quietly, almost too low for you to hear. “You most certainly will.”

Suddenly you began to doubt your initial assessment of him.


	7. It's the Action That Counts

“You’re serious?”

Granny nodded gravely. “Oh, one hundred percent. Ol’ Rumplestiltskin’s the Dark One, most powerful person in the entire Enchanted Forest, and most any other realm you can name.”

“And… CAPTAIN HOOK? Really?”

“Next time you see Killian, take a look at him and tell me he doesn’t look like a dang pirate,” Granny said, giving you a “see for yourself” stare. Then she was off, carrying a tray of food down three tables. Multiple people were gathered at the other end, mostly women and children it looked like. It seemed Granny’s was the place to be when there was a calamity for anyone who couldn’t fight properly – of course, nobody was willing to sit near you.

Granny’s instructions had made the reason why perfectly clear. You could easily understand why they would fear outsiders – a werewolf and magic were reasons enough for the place to get raided; what about living, breathing fairy tales? Snow White, Prince Charming, Sleeping Beauty, an Evil Queen, Jiminy Cricket… good lord, if you hadn’t started the day off with a harpy attack and a werewolf savior you’d never have even _considered_ believing any of it. As it was you were still quite skeptical.

“Sorry about that,” Granny said as she came back. “Nice to have company at this hour, but without Ruby I’m running a little ragged trying to keep everyone fed. Just glad most of them already ate.”

“Yeah… sorry about driving them away like that,” you said with a bit of guilt. “Why do you seem so friendly anyway?”

You’d told her about some of what had happened that day – the sudden appearance of Red, the picnic, and the attack and all the details that followed – but you’d carefully left out any mention of… well, kisses. Truthfully you were still rather awkward about the entire situation. You had no idea why she was being so nice to you. Hopefully the food wasn’t poisoned, but it was good enough to make it worth it anyway.

“Oh, forget them,” Granny said with a wave of her hand. “Like I’d leave someone all alone with all this over our heads, no matter who they are. Besides, Emma grew up here, Henry was born here, and Baelfire spent more time here than anyone else from our world, and none of them turned out rotten, so it’s not like the whole place is a big disaster just waiting to fall in on us. Heck, we’ve done more harm to you than you have to us- one second.”

Granny waved down toward one of the customers and turned around, grabbing a cup from below the counter and heading for the coffeepot. While she was moving, you couldn’t help but wonder just how much of that was true. Despite her words, everyone seemed quite happy to continue treating you like you were going to hold them at gunpoint the moment they stopped staring at you. Whatever, you didn’t care about the rest of them – there was only one person in this town you valued the opinion of enough to change, and she seemed quite happy the way you were.

“Excuse me,” a soft voice said from behind you, almost raspy in its breathiness. You turned, and a puff of blue filled your vision.

“I- hello,” you mumbled, barely hearing your own words as you tumbled off of your stool and toward the ground.

\------------------------------------

You were surprised, when you came to, that you didn’t have a headache. Or a dry throat, or feel a pain anywhere on your body really. It felt more like you were coming out of a nap, a very comfortable one at that. But unfortunately, the fact that you couldn’t move any part of your body reinforced the idea that you had, in fact, been kidnapped. And using your very limited experience with it as a reference, you were pretty certain that it had been magically.

“Whdmfuhkzhoinin?” You tried to speak, but even your mouth seemed to be pretty much incapable of movement, resulting in garbled speech that even you weren’t certain of.

“Save your breath. There’s nothing you can do for yourself right now. Just enjoy the ride. Soon you’ll be perfectly back to normal, none the worse for the trip.”

“Huh?” You managed that one pretty well, at least. Despite your confusion, you at least recognized the voice. It was Gold. A day or two ago that might have given you a bit of comfort, but given his manner the last time you two had talked (and, well, the fact he seemed to have kidnapped you), you were a bit reluctant to let your guard down. Just a bit.

“People from your world have brought us nothing but endless trouble,” Gold spat. “And my magic does not fail so easily as to allow any ordinary human through. I don’t know who you are, or who you’re working for with the power to get through one of my spells, but I’m not taking any chances.”

“Idnwr-“

“Keep quiet, you’re only frustrating us both,” Gold said casually. You tried looking around, hoping to get a sense of where you were. Well, for starters, the back seat of a car, a fairly old one judging by the interior, but very well-kept. Other than that nothing really jumped out as important, besides the whole ‘not-tied-up, but-can’t-move-a-muscle’ thing. Outside the windows it was almost pitch black, but you could see what you thought were trees whizzing by at a fast pace, which meant he had to be taking you out of town. But why? It didn’t seem like that would deter you much, unless he- no, he wouldn’t be taking you out to leave your body in the woods, would he?! Surely everyone would think it was disturbing if you just disappeared, forever!

You started trying to move, but you didn’t even draw Gold’s attention. Whatever spell he’d cast was so perfect the most you could do was flex your fingers. Still, you didn’t have a lot else to do besides think, so you kept trying. Surprisingly, you did start to get a little more movement, but by the time you could wriggle your wrists around slightly, the car was already coming to a halt.

“Right, off with you then,” Gold grunted as he pulled you out of the car. For an old man, he was surprisingly strong – he had you out and was pushing you down the road in no time. Ahead, you spied your car – but this didn’t feel like the stretch you’d left it in.

As you both approached, you saw a marking on the road. Not much more than a thin scratch, but enough to notice. Gold stopped you just short of it, then turned you around.

“Won’t take any chances of you coming back. Here, drink this,” He said, surprisingly venomously, as he pulled out a bottle from his pocket. It glowed effervescently, with a tremendous light blue energy. He uncapped it and forced it into your mouth, and though you tried to clench down it was like child’s play for him to force your jaw open and pour it down. The stuff tasted like… air, honestly, despite the fact that you could clearly feel it on your tongue. He tilted your head back until you were forced to swallow, your own body betraying you. The only thing it seemed to do right was start regaining feeling in the extremities; he stopped holding you up himself as your legs figured out how to work properly again.

“Whattafuck-“ You managed to form clear words as he pulled it away, but he clamped a hand over your mouth a moment later.

“I’m already tired of your whining,” he sneered. “This potion will make you forget this place ever existed; it’s tied in perfectly with the reinforcements I added to the town barrier. As soon as you cross that line, you won’t remember a thing. You’ll go on to whatever little errand you had to run, and even if you come back this way, my new spells will make damn sure you don’t threaten me or my family ever again!”

You tried to get something out, but he turned you around with his hand still over your mouth, while the other one firmly grasped the back of your shirt.

“Goodbye, tourist,” he muttered sarcastically as he gave you one firm shove. You were so close to the line that there was no chance to halt; even if you’d just gone limp, you would’ve fallen across. You stumbled forward, legs struggling to stop you from crossing the line, but barely succeeding in keeping you standing at all with the force he’d pushed you.

There was a flash of white in your mind. Your head exploded with pain, and you fell flat on your ass a moment later. You hissed in pain as your head landed on asphalt, and you looked around frantically, breathing heavily.

What had just happened? You looked around, frantically scanning your mind. There was… Gold. He was still standing there, looking awestruck. You glance down… you were still on the same side of the town line. What had just stopped you? Then your heart skipped a beat as you tried to remember – and yes, you _could_ remember! Remember everything that had happened, memories flashing through your mind of the last twenty-four hours. You saw the harpies, the sheriff, and the wolf. You saw Ruby. You… saw Ruby? You saw… you saw… Ruby?

You saw **_red_**.

Suddenly you weren’t on the ground, you were charging. Gold had a look of shock on his face as you shouldered him so hard that he flew across the highway and off into the trees. You kept going, not breaking stride as you rammed both arms into his throat, wrapping your fingers tight and attempting to literally choke the life out of him.

“You’re gonna have to do better than that, dearie,” Gold said, but there was no confidence in his voice. “I knew you were something special, but what made the Barrier keep you in? I specifically designed it only to keep people from our world in to protect them! _What **are** you_?”

“I'm just someone who's really fucking pissed right now,” you spat. You could see choking him was doing nothing – he was even still speaking, though how you weren’t sure. You gave up on that and drew back, lashing out with a fist.

The blow hit the tree and shattered wood, sending splinters across the grass. You looked around but couldn’t find Gold, as if he’d simply vanished into thin air.

You screamed, howling to the empty forest in rage. You were panting heavily, but the same chant kept running through your mind.

_”Remember, remember, remember.”_

You turned toward your car, but it was well out of reach. Even if you could get beyond the town line, you wouldn’t take the chance now. You had to remember. Had to remember everything.

Your feet pounded on the concrete with enough force to echo through the woods as you returned to the road and began the long trip home.


	8. Saved by the Hell!

By the time the town came into sight, the sun was starting to rise over the horizon. You hadn’t been keeping track of the time before you got kidnapped well enough to know how long that made it since you disappeared from Granny’s. Three hours? Four? It had already been dark when you left the forest with Ruby, and you’d spent quite a bit of time after that at Granny’s. Still… unless the town meeting involved more politics than you expected, there shouldn’t have been any way for Ruby to not notice you missing by now. Maybe if you-

Some instinct, some unconscious thought, made you duck. A ball of fire soared over your head, crashing into a tree and instantly setting it ablaze. The explosion wasn’t your concern, though; instead you focused your eyes on its source.

Gold was standing there, again – this time one of his hands was extended, but he quickly retracted it and formed another blast.

_”Remember. Remember. Remember.”_

“I tried to play nice. I tried to get you to leave us alone, but you just won’t be reasonable,” he said, far too calmly and quietly.

“Reasonable? You call kidnapping and attempted murder _reasonable_?! You call trying to throw me across the town line, making me forget everyone – making me forget **Ruby**. ‘reasonable’?!” You spat back.

“Anything to protect my family is reasonable,” he countered, raising up a hand. You tried to move out of the way, but nothing happened – including movement. You felt like you were in molasses suddenly, moving only a few inches at a time instead of the sprint you were going for.

“Not if it means killing someone, Gold!”

You’d had a much less family-friendly warning in mind, but you’d welcome the slightly nicer approach when it came from the voice of the most beautiful woman in Storybrooke. There was Ruby, hopping out of a little yellow Volkswagon, and on the other side, the Sheriff, looking pissed as all hell.

“Why Miss Swan, glad to see you’re doing your duty as our protector. I was just about to take care of one of our problems,” Gold said with a level of sarcasm you didn’t know was possible. He didn’t drop the fireball, or whatever was holding you, but you continued to inch forward, intent on the slowest strangling in history.

“This isn’t protecting anyone Gold, you know that!”

_”Remember. Remember. Remember.”_

“I _do_ know, and what I know is that nothing good has come of an outsider since Henry was born! There’s something going on here, and if I can’t get to the bottom of it, I’ll make sure it can never get to us! Look at that, Swan!” He pointed toward you with his free hand, making you glare even harder. “No human should be able to do this, not without very _powerful_ magic – even you’d have trouble moving under this spell. Not only that, but I had to use enough sleeping powder to kill an ordinary person, and it still wasn't enough! There are powerful forces at work here, too powerful to trifle with!"

“It doesn’t matter! Set the fireball down, or else!”

Gold sneered. “Just what exactly are you planning on doing anyway, Miss Swan, going to shoot me?”

“Not exactly,” Emma said with a frown, holstering her gun. Gold smiled for a moment, then hesitated as her hands came up. They were glowing. You barely registered the shock in your own mind before Gold’s fireball vanished in a wisp of smoke, and he went stumbling backwards.

He wasn’t smiling at all, then.

“So, a duel then? Between the Dark One and the Savior? A duel for the ages?” He taunted her, leaning in and sneering, already bringing his hands back up. 

_”Remember. Remember. Remember.”_

The standoff was intense, and you couldn’t imagine what it would take to break it. Emma wasn’t going to back down, but Gold seemed like he’d sooner Ruby looked torn between wanting to stay by her friend’s side and wanting to run to yours.

“I don’t want to do this Gold, but I’m not going to let you murder someone!”

“Is everyone in this town magical?” You mouthed to Ruby, but were quite disturbed at either possibility.

There was a long silence. Emma and Gold glared, each daring each other to make the first move, as if they were frozen in place as they stared into each other’s eyes. The air was filled with a thrumming, a repetitive whooshing sound. Their magic was building, their power raising, their faces- 

Looking to the sky in shock?

You looked up, attention broken as screeches and howls broke the air. Above you, no less than a dozen of the same kind of creatures you’d seen in the forest before were descending, coming after each of you. Most were focused on Gold and Emma – it seemed like they’d identified their biggest threats . But one was dive-bombing you, and you had to throw yourself to the ground to avoid being caught by those raking talons. It hadn’t ended well the last time.

Two more were headed for Ruby, but you watched in awe, waiting for her to turn into that ferocious wolf and tear them into pieces. When she did nothing but cover her head and duck, running low toward you, you shouted out in confusion.

“Ruby, can’t you turn and take care of them?!”

“The sun’s up!” She shouted back, throwing herself to the ground to avoid a low dive, and then immediately getting back up and running to you again. “I can’t turn during the day!”

 _”Shit!”_ you thought, cursing yourself for forgetting basic werewolf lore. Your mind had been a bit hazy ever since the incident with Gold. Ruby reached out to you, and you moved forward, grasping at her arms. Your hand caught hers, and you smiled as you moved to embrace her.

Ruby’s hand was violently wrenched away, and no amount of grip strength could hope to save her, as the force that pulled her away was akin to a tornado wrenching the wall of a house out of place. Your eyes shot open as a harpy screeched, pulling her steadily away. Ruby was fighting back, but you’d already been inside those talons. No one could break free of them alone.

_”Remember. Remember. Remember.”_

The upper functions of your mind started to shut down, the only response your brain could come up with to the stress that seeing Ruby pulled away was putting you through. Your emotions shut down, and you began processing the world around you in terms of your own actions rather than what was happening around you.

You took one solid step forward. You planted your foot and leaped into the air, leaving the ground behind you. It felt like you were flying, like you were racing the harpy toward the sky. You saw the shock in Ruby’s face, but only peripherally. Your eyes were locked on the harpy, its bestial features unreadable. Ruby screamed, and you didn’t glance toward her. Your hands locked around its shoulders, and you piled all your weight upon it, smashing your head into it. Your fingers wrapped around its collarbone and you drew back for another blow.

Tumbling. Falling. The world around you was spinning, but the harpy seemed as if it were still, save for its mouth open in a visceral scream. Your claws dug into the soft flesh of its chest. Your fangs latched onto its legs and pried, scraping muscle and flesh until Ruby fell free of its grasp. Then they sank into its throat as you tore away, feeling the warm spray of essence across your features.

At some point you hit the ground. You didn’t remember this, but you must have, because by the time you came back to yourself you were tearing through flesh and dirt alike, claws swiping in massive arcs that cared little for what they hit.

“HEY… HEY!”

The shout gave you enough clarity to remember that there were others around. But your hand only paused in mid-air. This was good. This was right. Hurting those that hurt you. Pain for the pain you felt. An eye for an eye, a heart for a heart, and-

“I told you, Swan, this… _thing_ is not a human, it’s not even from this world!”

The voice. You turned, vision running red. Whether it was blood or anger, you didn’t care enough to consider. Your eyes simply saw another threat. You took a step forward, and a burst of fire sprayed across your body. You flinched, feeling the searing heat across your face and front legs, but it faded away quickly enough. You caught the scent of burnt fur – and your hackles began to rise again. All the other threats were gone. Scorched corpses covered the ground, and in the distance you could see fleeing shapes. Only one threat left, and soon enough he’d be dead too.

“Stop hurting it! What… IS it, Gold? You know something!”

“Stop saying _it_ ," Ruby warned, clutching at a wound on her arm. You growled low, staring at the blood. She stepped back – you didn’t know why.

“Something I thought I took care of a long time ago… but apparently there’s one left,” Gold muttered, his hand already forming another ball. You crouched, low and ready to leap over it and strike him down.

“Explain, Gold, NOW!”

“Both of you, shut up!”

They both froze. You did too, sensing a lack of threat from either of them. Ruby turned toward you, and took a tentative step. That was good. She would be easier to protect if she got away from the threats, and she wouldn’t get in the way when you tore that man to pieces.

Across the wind, your nose caught a tiny scent. In your rage from moments before, you had failed to notice it, but now that you were slightly calmer and focused more on Ruby than your kill, you couldn’t help but delight in the sweetness of it. Like a mixture of lilac, cherry wood, and the cool minty rush of the first burst of winter air into your unprepared lungs. Exhilarating and soothing, all at the same time. You blinked a few times as you tried to fight it away as the scent started to carry off your good sense into a lulled state of passivity. You couldn’t stop to smell the flowers. Not when Ruby was still in danger.

“There’s… something in there. Humanity. I should know… I should know…” she whispered the last part as she approached, going down to one knee in front of you. You cocked your head to the side, not sure why she was being so hesitant. She started to reach out one hand, gently extending it toward your forehead.

You took two steps forward and lowered your head, nuzzling into her. She gasped at first, but the moment you made contact she let it out in a long sigh wrapping her arms around your head. Then she laughed, and you pulled back in confusion, your claws leaving little divots in the ground where you’d tried to move a little too quickly.

“Come on now… I know we started it, with the whole fairy tale thing, but… no more secrets, okay?” Ruby said, a strangely sad smile on her features. Your ears drooped down. You didn’t like to see her sad. “Now, please, what are you?”

What were you? That was simple. Couldn’t she see you were you? The same as you’d always been, and just trying to protect-

_”Remember. Remember. Remember.”_

A white hot flash filled your mind as that chant echoed across your consciousness once again. All at once, your body felt… wrong. You stumbled back, shaking your head, your entire body in an attempt to straighten everything out. It was a miserable failure, and the ground gave way under your feet as you toppled over, landing headfirst on the eviscerated corpse of a harpy.

Your vision focused down on something moving. Immediately you wondered if it was a threat, something else dangerous, but it made no attack. Eventually your mind focused enough to get a better look at it. Dirty silver fur, flecked with dark patches and soaked with blood. That was all you could make out at first, but as you moved your head, you saw a pair of luminescent yellow irises somewhere in that mess.

A wolf? Here? But… Ruby couldn’t transform during the day. And she was a totally different color. You cocked your head in confusion. The wolf cocked its own.

Your eyes opened wide – so did the wolf’s. You realized with sudden clarity that you were looking down, into a pool of the harpy’s blood.

Into a reflection.

The wolf collapsed to the ground as it fainted.


	9. Hungry Like The... What?

_The water was clear. Crystalline, even. The grass couldn’t have been greener if it had a fresh coat of paint, and the air was so fresh that it felt like you were breathing clouds. Well, not really, breathing a cloud in was probably a pretty polluted feeling…_

_What was freaking you out, then, had to be the wolf staring you down from only inches away. It was on its haunches, and looking directly into your eyes. It didn’t look like the wolf that had met you in that hotel, but it still looked familiar, though you couldn’t place where you thought you might have met such a creature before._

_You tried backing away, but as you were sitting down it proved difficult. You made a little progress, but the beast just followed you, leaning forward and prowling closer each time you stepped away._

_“Sh-shoo,” you said, trying desperately to get it to leave you alone. It only growled as you spoke to it, moving along with you in perfect time._

_You stopped as your hands fell backward into the pool of water, then plowed onward until you were literally up to your neck. Then you finally stumbled to your feet – but froze halfway, when the wolf stood up to its full height._

_It was massive. Before you’d been so overcome with fear that you had thought its crouched position was close to its true size, but now it seemed ludicrous. It was almost twice as large as a regular wolf, with incisors that looked like they could cut through your spine._

_“What are-“_

_As soon as you started talking, it growled again, low and deep. You opened your mouth to speak again, and its jaw cracked. You raised a hand in objection, as if trying to scold a child interrupting you – and its own paw mirrored you._

_Your eyes widened in shock as it did that. You moved forward, suddenly emboldened – the wolf followed your movement, stepping closer. You took a step back, and it did so as well, but as soon as you took another step it moved forward again._

_You went to your knees again and the beast knelt down. Leaning forward placed both of your heads within inches of each other, and you could feel its breath on your face. You saw the light in its eyes, the way it was staring so… humanly at you._

_You blinked, and for a moment the wolf blurred. You rubbed at your eyes, and when you opened them again, you were staring into your own face. But you looked shocked, scared. Although you weren’t moving, you backed away, flinging yourself onto your own butt and attempting to crawl rapidly in the other direction._

_You looked down to the ground, and fell in shock as you watched your own paws wiggle back at you._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You felt oddly comfortable when you woke up. Possibly more than you should have – you had a vague inkling in the back of your head that you should be a lot more distraught, but something was running along your scalp, and that feeling was _magnificent_.

“I think… I think I saw an eye twitch.”

You opened your eyes, more out of shock than anything – not only did you recognize the voice, but it was only inches away from you, directly above your face. The visage of Ruby greeted you, smiling down, but for the first time since you’d met her, she seemed worried. You’d seen her passionate, annoyed, and scared, but never worried.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” You asked, reaching up to place your hand on her face. She winced a little, and you noticed the blood covering your hand. You quickly pulled it away, leaving a small smear of red where your fingertips had rested.

“Well, for starters, you never told me you were a giant wolf,” Ruby said, and despite her chuckle you could tell she was actually a little bit bothered.

“I’m a…. a what?”

As her eyes narrowed in suspicion, you started to think about the last things that had led to you falling unconscious. It was hard, but you were vaguely coming back to the last things you recalled. Slowly at first, then… flashes of memory. You saw Gold, and felt rage, your blood seething. Then Emma, Ruby… a harpy. A wolf. Your wolf.

**You.**

“Ruby, I don’t… it’s not clear, I can barely remember what happened. Did I, uh… did I hurt anyone?”

You weren’t really sure if you wanted to know the answer to that, but your opinion didn’t matter much if you’d ended up causing harm. You didn’t see anyone else around you either, so that led you to wonder.

“No, you saved me, actually,” Ruby said, smiling.

“Thank goodness… I don’t know what I’d do if-“

You tried reaching up, to put your other hand on her face, hoping it wasn’t quite so bloody. You were surprised when it caught, and a metallic jingling caught your attention. Your eyes flashed over and noticed the pair of handcuffs holding that arm to what you now saw was a hospital bed.

“Great, back here again,” you groaned. “Not even free to leave this time.”

“Well you did scare the hell out of us,” Ruby said, rolling her eyes. “I had to strong-arm Emma into letting you keep one hand free… and I think she only let me stay in here because I’m the only one who could maybe restrain you.”

“Not until the sun goes down though, huh?” you said, smiling and chuckling. She didn’t seem to find it funny – rather she looked concerned.

“Do you know how long you were out?”

You looked around to find a window – it wasn’t hard. To your surprise, pitch black and the vague flickering of parking lot lights were what greeted you.

“I’m guessing a lot longer than I thought. What did I miss? Besides, you know, the medical incarceration.”

“Gold’s on a tear. Nobody’s seen him in hours, not even Belle. Last thing he did was appear in the town square and start shouting about how you were a monster, some kind of… abomination.”

“You don’t… you don’t think I am, do you?”

She looked nervous for a long moment. Your heart started to fall as fear and doubt crept into her eyes – she couldn’t hide those from you.

“No,” she finally said, surprisingly convincingly. She rubbed a hand through your hair again, and smiled sadly. “I just… I don’t know what to think. I guess I’m in shock, but I can’t really blame you. I mean, if I hadn’t gone overboard that night in your room, and then changed in front of you, you’d never have really known who we were.”

“I’m thankful for that,” you said quietly. You wanted to convince her that you hadn’t known, tell her you had no idea of what you really were, but you didn’t think she’d believe you. It was pretty hard to believe anyone could not know they were a giant wolf, really. “What exactly happened that night? We haven’t exactly had much time to talk. Not since everything came out in the open.”

“I…” she blushed, her skin turning as red as her cloak. “I don’t really know, myself. When I first started turning I had no idea. I didn’t even know what I was for months. The wolf was in charge, and I couldn’t remember anything about my nights out. When I learned how to control it, being the wolf was no different than being myself. But that night something came over me, like the wolf was taking over again. I didn’t black out, but I was kind of watching it all happen like a dream.”

“So you didn’t mean to come in?” You asked. Despite the absurdity of it, you felt almost sad about that.

“I… I mean, the wolf did? I did? I don’t know what it was. I did like talking to you at the diner, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t exactly make a habit of breaking and entering… at least not like that. I was tracking a scent, and I followed it all the way to your room. I snapped out of it when you knocked yourself out, and then I freaked out because I thought I hurt you. I can’t really say much more on what brought me there, though. It’s not like I could get into the wolf’s head very well.”

“No problems… I’m actually really glad to hear that,” you said, smiling. “I didn’t-“

“Didn’t tell us you were some kind of werewolf?”

You sighed, and slammed your head back into the pillow. You knew that voice all too well.

“Emma, thank goodness. What’s going on out there?” Ruby sounded worried, but she didn’t leave your side.

“Gold’s got the town in an uproar… thankfully, the Dark One going on a rant about monstrosities isn’t exactly the rallying call we’ve had others try. I calmed everyone down as best as I could and told them all to stay locked up where it’s safe. Killian saw a few of them flying over the town, but they didn’t come inside, and for now we’re the only ones that have actually fought any of them.”

“Lucky us,” you groaned.

“What happened to that mugger, back in New York?”

That was a blunt change of topic. Emma looked at you with a fiery conviction and refused to back down. You rolled your eyes, quite certain she wasn’t going to be very happy with the answer that you had to give.

“I don’t know. I told you, I blacked out.”

She frowned, opened her mouth to say something, then shut it again. She leaned against the side of the door and rested her head against the frame for a moment before trying again.

“You’re not telling us everything, though.”

You looked down. Truthfully, she was right. You hadn’t known much more than you let on before, but given… recent information… it was a little more obvious what that might have entailed.

“The mugging was on a back street. I got lost, wasn’t entirely sober, and I just wanted to get back to my hotel room. A guy stepped around a corner, the only person for miles as far as I knew. He put a gun to my head and demanded I hand over everything I had, or he’d blow my brains out. I froze, panicked enough to forget how to move. He twitched his finger on the trigger and I freaked out. The next thing I knew, I was laying in my bed and the sun was rising. I had a killer headache, too, but that wasn’t as unusual as the blacking out.”

“You woke up in your bed? No hospital, no jail?” Emma said, opening her eyes wide.

“Nope. I tried to find out what had happened, and it didn’t take long. Big news story… the guy wound up in the hospital. They said he was covered in scratches, lacerations, nearly disemboweled. Bite marks twice the size of any dog, maybe bigger.”

You paused to take a long, shaky breath.

“He didn’t make it out of the hospital. He died in surgery, massive blood loss and trauma from shock.”

Ruby and Emma stared at you, and it felt like their eyes were boring holes to your very soul. You just gripped the sheets tightly, trying to tune out the voices in your head spewing the most vile things you could imagine them thinking at that moment.

“You killed a man, and you didn’t think anything about it?”

“I didn’t think I killed him!” You shouted at the Sheriff, a little more hostilely than originally planned, but you rolled with it. “Imagine being in my shoes. Granny said you were born here, grew up here in this world, away from magic – I already knew that I blacked out when I was afraid or really pissed off, and nothing like this had ever happened before. The person who did it ended up bruised, and a little afraid of me, if I ever saw them again, but they sure as hell didn’t bring any silver bullets when they showed up. Why would I think I suddenly turned into a wolf?”

“You had no idea that something like this was happening?” Ruby said, her eyes lighting up. It seemed like the idea you hadn’t been keeping something from her still made her happy, even if she knew their secret was bigger.

“I didn’t… I swear. That’s the only time I’ve ever had an incident like that. Every other time I just found out I’d beaten someone up, or really screamed someone’s head off, if they were being an asshole, but never killed anyone.”

Emma sighed, resting her head on the door frame.

“You’re not lying. You may still not be telling us the full truth-“

“I am,” you interjected, seriously.

“- _but_ ,” she continued, raising an eyebrow, “I can tell you’re not lying. At the very least it looks like you can handle yourself, so you’re not in any danger while you’re here.”

“You mean I can stay?!” You said, almost shouting, as you sat up a little.

“We don’t have much choice. We overheard what you shouted at Gold… if you really can’t leave this place, it means you’re not getting through that barrier without a spell. I’m not sure I want to try to mess with it myself, and Gold’s obviously not going to be helpful for a while. Regina’s… well, she’s Regina, so don’t count on her either.”

“So what do we do now?” Ruby asked.

“For starters, I’m going to leave Ruby in charge of you,” Emma said, walking over and releasing the handcuff. She got it off of the bed a moment later while you were flexing your wrist around and making sure there was no loss of blood flow. “Right now I need to make sure nobody in the town gets eaten… but I’m keeping my eye on you. Ruby, are you sure you trust-“

“Yes,” she said immediately, nodding her head and putting a hand on your shoulder. You looked up, and were surprised to see a lack of doubt on her face. She grinned down at you and rubbed her hand across your cheek, her flawless skin like silk gliding across your face.

“Well… good for you. Until all this gets sorted out, though, don’t trust anyone. _Especially_ Gold.”

With that, the Sheriff walked out slowly, looking back several times. You didn’t care if she was still suspicious of you – you were a little weirded out yourself. All this was so new. Ever since coming to this town your entire life had been upended, and aside from the almost-getting-killed thing that seemed to be pretty common, that wasn’t such a bad thing.

“So what the hell do we do now?” You asked. “I… I still don’t know much of what’s going on here. About the town, about you, about _me_ , not even about… well, us.”

“Let’s figure that one out together,” Ruby said, smiling and wrapping her hand around yours. “As for all the rest, why don’t we go see Granny?”

“Together?” You asked, hesitantly. Then you sighed and leaned your head back on the bed once again.

“Sure, I’ve already been attacked twice. What’s once more?”


	10. Barking Up the Wrong Book

“You’re looking in the wrong place, honey. Should you even be coming to your grandmother for this kind of thing?”

“We- well, we didn’t really have anyone else to turn to,” Ruby said. “You and Gold are the only ones in town who might have an inkling of what’s going on, and he’s…”

“Insane?” You volunteered.

“You don’t even know the half of it,” David volunteered as he sighed and rested his head on his arm against the countertop.

With Emma running about trying to protect the town, many people had once again gathered at Granny’s. Among them were a similar cluster to the ones from the last time you were here (who were now staying even farther away, to the point they seemed to be slowly turning into a part of the wall), as well as those clustered around you now – David, Mary Margaret, Ruby, and Granny. Also apparently known as Prince Charming, Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood (who was also the wolf), and her kindly grandmother (also an ex-wolf). And, of course, the happy little baby of Snow White and Prince Charming, resting soundly in its mother’s arms.

Fantastic.

“I’m afraid I can’t be much help,” Granny scoffed as she poured another cup of coffee and started to doctor it up. “I wasn’t born into this whole thing, your grandfather’s the one that bit _me_. As far as I know we’re the only ones of our kind, and ‘our kind’ don’t turn into wolves like that. Not during the day, and not just because someone ticked us off! Whatever’s going on here, it has nothing to do with us or our little ‘furry’ issue.”

"Please never phrase it like that again."

“So we don’t know anything,” Snow sighed.

“I’ve never heard of any legends like this, but that’s hard to believe. You’re obviously not from this world, and something like you would be hard to keep secret,” Charming added thoughtfully.

“Gold did say something about ‘taking care of’ something,” Ruby whispered. “You don’t think he wiped out whatever you are?”

“Rumplestiltskin has been The Dark One since… well, at least a couple hundred years,” David mused. “If he did have a grudge, that’s enough time for legends to fade, especially if they weren't much more than a legend to begin with.”

“Are you guys… are you saying you think Gold killed my family?” Everyone froze, looking at you with horror, apparently realizing what they were suggesting and the impact it might have on you. You broke the silence by laughing, rolling your eyes. “Look, if he’s only a couple hundred years old that’s impossible. My family came over to America some two hundred and fifty years ago, and my grandpa said he traced them back about a hundred years beyond that. Hell, I’m literally going- well, _was_ going to my annual family reunion. I’m not exactly new around town, you know. I mean, I am in this town, but… you know what I mean.”

“Maybe they’ve been here for a while,” Snow said, gesturing to everywhere around you. “In our land, a long time ago there were giants who grew magical beans that could transport people between realms, even this one. If one of your ancestors fell into one, even by accident…”

“It could explain how you inherited this ability, how your family is still alive, even if Rumple thinks he wiped them out,” David finished.

“But that doesn’t explain why it’s never happened before,” you countered, leaning your head on the counter and trying to think back. “I mean… yeah, I could _almost_ believe all this insanity after the rest of what I've seen, but the fact is that nobody in my family has ever been convicted of assault, murder, anything of the sort. It’s not a big family, but… _someone_ should have shown signs besides me in our great history, right?”

“That’s a good point. Are you sure you’re the only one?” David asked.

You rolled your eyes. “Gee, I think so. Maybe if I would’ve gotten to go to my reunion I could’ve asked around to see if any of my relatives have turned into dire wolves lately.”

“You might be the only one anyway,” Snow thought out loud, gently shifting the baby in her arms. “We have no idea how this is passed on. Your bloodline might be diminished by now, if that matters, and it's different than Ruby's so it might not be passed on by bites, so people who married into the family wouldn't have it. It’s possible-“

“It’s the magic,” Granny interrupted, shoving her head forward between yourself and the married couple while looking pointedly at Ruby.

“Oh my god, she’s right! I didn’t turn until the curse was broken, not until Gold brought magic back,” Ruby said, clasping her hands around her mouth.

“How long ago was that?” You asked, suddenly feeling a chill down your spine.

“About two years, give or take,” Ruby said, looking sheepish, as if she felt responsible for the bad news.

"The magic is mostly contained to the town's borders except in items and specific circumstances. We've had some issues with magic from beyond the city limits, but it's really rare, mostly part of magic items. Being here, with magic in the air… it might make turning easier for you."

Was that right? Well… yeah, maybe. You’d had a few incidents before that were a little hazy with anger, but you never had anything quite like that mugging. Since then you’d avoided stress and fear as much as possible, and it was hard to base a conclusion off of one incident. Still, it seemed… possible. Probable, even. Could it be true? Could you be some kind of magical creature, that had just been restricted to one hell of a temper until you got pushed over the edge? If what they were saying was true, this was one of the most dangerous places for you to be - it was so much easier for you to turn here!

Even a few days ago, you would’ve found the notion ridiculous. But after seeing flying harpies, actual _real_ magic, and two people (including yourself) turn into wolves, nothing really seemed that unbelievable anymore.

“So you guys think I’m some kind of… extinct monster?” You asked, staring at your glass. A mixture of feelings were running through.

“Do you think I’m a monster?”

Ruby’s voice startled you with how accused you felt, even though her tone was incredibly neutral. You turned toward her and immediately stared into your eyes, fighting that feeling of being pulled into them long enough to form a proper sentence.

“I… no, absolutely not.” You were rather proud that your tone was as firm as it was, leaving no room for argument.

“Then neither are you,” Ruby replied, smiling. Her tone matched yours in its conviction.

“Neither of you are monsters. You’re both human beings,” Snow said quietly.

“Human beings under whatever spell or curse might have started this whole thing, or maybe just with a special magical gift, it doesn’t matter anymore,” Charming agreed, holding his wife close and cuddling their baby between them both. “All that matters is that we find out as much as we can. Ruby leads a great life here, so don't go thinking this has changed anything. You're still you.”

“Is there anyone else in town who might be able to help us? Someone with a lot of knowledge, maybe some interest in history to boot?”

The question shut everyone at the gathering down. A few glances were exchanged, and when it became clear no one else was going to speak up eventually Granny took it upon herself.

“Yeah, you bet there’s one. But you aren’t gonna wanna go anywhere _near_ that one.”

“Is she that bad?”

“It’s not her,” Ruby said, a look of realization coming across her face, mixed with just a tinge of fear. “Belle is, well, she’s a great woman. I’m sure she’d love to help you.”

“Then what’s the problem? Especially if this is really, and I’m just kind of winging it here, Belle of Beauty and the Beast? She seemed really nice in the stories,” You said, trying hard not to giggle at the sheer audacity of an assumption like that to a normal person.

“Yeah,” Ruby said, her face not lightening in the slightest.

“But the Beast is Rumplestiltskin.”


	11. Peace of Mindfucked

Your quest for knowledge had actually become somewhat of a literal quest, complete with a fellowship and everything. Your group had the Chosen One, the charming prince, the concerned mother figure, the pirate, the wild girl, and… whatever the hell you were. Apparently the wild boy, or some kind of a crazed and tactless warrior. You even had a cluster of hobbits, courtesy of the Seven Dwarves. If you found any rings, you were chucking them and running the other way.

Everyone at the Diner had insisted on escorting you the following morning, and Emma had insisted on accompanying you because apparently going up against the Dark One was something she didn’t feel comfortable letting her own parents do alone. With the town at risk but nothing to do besides wait for a lead to come up on where the Harpies were coming from, everyone was on edge and more than happy to help you out because, and you were quoting “Grumpy”, “At least getting in a fight with The Dark One beats waiting to become somethin’s lunch”.

Apparently Ruby’s efforts to locate the harpies had been somewhat unsuccessful, and Gold had spent his time kidnapping and then attempting to kill you rather than researching them and locating their nests. That meant it was temporarily out of their hands.

“You know Swan I’m all for learning what sets off the new Big Bad Wolf, but maybe we should rethink the idea of getting The Dark One’s True Love in on the secret?” Killian said, glancing over the library.

"Really? You're going to bring up the Big Bad Wolf?" Ruby asked, glaring at the pirate with an intense anger.

“Gold needs to be dealt with, one way or the other. We can’t have him killing people because they had the audacity to be alive,” David replied to Killian, nodding with confidence.

“And if nothing else, this ought to lure him into the open,” Emma finished, taking her first step up towards Storybrooke’s library.

“So, I’m bait then? Do I have any options here?” You asked, holding out your hands. Despite that, when Ruby moved past you with a smile and continued inside, you were quick enough to follow.

“Yeah. If Gold throws any fireballs at you turn into a wolf and eat him. Pretty sure he’ll live,” Emma said. You weren’t entirely sure whether that was sarcasm or exasperation in her tone. Then again, you didn’t have much control over it either way.

The small army escorting you made their way into the library together, filing through the open doorway and scanning all over the place to find the librarian. It didn’t take long. She was at the other end, examining a volume up close from the nearby shelf and scanning over its contents while absentmindedly dusting the shelf with her other hand.

The peace and quiet didn’t last long when she heard all of you walking forward and finally bothered to look up.

“Emma! Everyone, what are you all- Oh my god, get out of here!” Belle shouted, pointing directly at you.

“Relax, Belle. We’ve got everything under control,” Emma said, putting an arm back over you. “Nobody’s in danger here.”

“No, you don’t understand, Rumple’s-“

Before she could even complete her sentence, the door slammed shut behind you. One of the dwarves started to jiggle the handle, but nothing at all happened. Window shutters slammed close, one by one, and the lights in the place all went out until the only illumination came from the windows with no covering and what little filtered through the rest.

“Morning, dearies. You’re all looking nice and pale. Must be hard to get a good night’s sleep with not just one, but two kinds of killers mucking about in the city.”

Gold’s voice came from everywhere, and nowhere. It didn’t take long for the man himself to materialize though, directly in front of Belle and standing almost protectively in front of her, despite the fact that she was clearly unhappy.

“Rumple, stop this, there’s no need for-“

“There is _all_ the need for this, Belle. I won’t have you endangered because they enjoy letting this beast run about.”

“Tell us what’s going on, Gold,” Emma warned. “We won’t let you kill anyone.”

“You don’t have to. I don’t need anyone’s _permission_ ,” Gold sneered. With a wave of two fingers, David and Mary Margaret went sailing off to the left. Another, and Ruby fell to the opposite side. You went after her, but were forced to abandon that plan when another flick sent the dwarves all collapsing backward into the doorway and you stumbling on your feet. The only people left standing then were you, Emma, and Killian, who was quick to draw his blade.

“Right then, the hard way after all, Crocodile?” Killian asked. Gold rolled his eyes and waved his hand, sending Killian’s sword scattering down one of the aisles harmlessly.

“That’s enough, Gold,” Emma said. She stepped forward and raised both of her hands in what you had to assume was a fairly threatening gesture to someone who wasn’t so new to all of this.

“No, _that’s quite enough from you_ ,” he spat, throwing his hands out again. Emma’s own lit up and she barely budged on the carpet, and even you felt no force. Whatever she was doing, it seemed like she was holding her own… for now.

“Nobody’s been hurt Rumple, why are you acting this way?”

“Because the last time I let one of these _things_ live, I almost lost my son,” he roared, and though it wasn’t directed at her, even Belle stepped back. His voice was angry, but in a new way you’d not heard from him. A pained way.

“What the _hell_ kind of thing are you talking about?!” You screamed back, tired of these mystery games. You were sick of not knowing, sick of everyone being so scared of you – and all over a secret you had no idea was even a real secret until a few days ago.

“The kind of thing that needs to be purged before it can do anymore harm.” An unsatisfactory answer at best, not that you were surprised at this point.

“Rumple… what happened?” Belle asked, her voice showing no fear, only concern. If you weren’t so busy being pissed at her “true love”, you’d be impressed. “You’re keeping secrets, Rumple, and if this is such a big deal why not tell us? I’m afraid I’m losing you again. Please, for my sake.”

You doubted it was just for her sake, which made you want to applaud the woman even more. Gold never turned away, never lowered his arms, and barely lowered his voice. Yet he still began speaking to Belle, in a tone that conveyed all the hatred he refused to let go.

“This was nearly two hundred years ago, Belle… before you were born, before I lost my son. Only months after I became the dark one…”

_**The forest was in shadows, as black as The Dark One’s own soul. Rumplestiltskin would’ve been terrified by the darkness before, but now he was without fear. Nothing in this world could strike him down, and nothing could threaten his Baelfire as long as he did not leave his side. With the power of the Dark One, he could have anything and anyone he wanted, and end any life he chose. The dark was his home, now.** _

_**“Papa, I’m tired. Why did we have to come out here?”** _

_**“Sorry Bae, but you know I don’t like leaving you alone for long. The particular plant I need only blossoms at midnight, and it only grows in this forest. Don’t worry, we won’t be long.”** _

_**“No, you won’t.”** _

_**The voice was gruff, and did its best to be threatening. All it really did was tickle at Rumple’s sense of humor, making him cackle gleefully as he turned around.** _

_**There stood a cluster of four men, each armed with a variety of tools. The three in back were brandishing weapons, two clubs and a lethal-looking dagger. The one in the front had a rope, stretched taut between both of his fists.** _

_**“I’m sorry, I must have missed the part where you could hold us up,” Rumplestiltskin said gleefully, tapping his fingers together in front of himself, not hesitating to step up toward the men. “I remember you four. You’re from the village down the road, aren’t you? My, my, and you all seemed so hospitable when I was bribing out the location of these flowers from you.”** _

_**“Give us your gold, old man. Every last coin, or we kill you both. The boy dies first,” he said, jutting his chin out toward Baelfire.** _

_**“Oh, goodie!” Rumplestiltskin cackled, lacing his fingers together. “I haven’t had someone to skin in weeks! Close your eyes, Bae, this’ll be over soon.”** _

_**“Papa!”** _

_**The cry was short and desperate, cut off in fear. Rumplestiltskin could’ve cut a tree with his cape at the speed he whirled, seeing a fifth man emerging from the woods. Rumple threw out an arm instinctively, freezing the man in his tracks.** _

_**Or at least, he tried to.** _

_**The man kept moving, slowed but undeterred by the spell. His sword was coming forward at an alarming rate, still fast enough to cause harm if the blade had any decent kind of sharpness to it.** _

_**“Bae!” Rumple moved with purpose, crossing the distance in time that no human could’ve managed. Baelfire flew across the road and into a pile of leaves, his fall softened greatly by the spell that his father had thrown him with. Meanwhile the sword cleaved into Rumple’s shoulder, but The Dark One felt no pain. No, all he felt was anger. Anger and glee at the pain he was about to inflict.** _

_**“You get to die first. Then _your_ children,” Rumple said, sending his hand through the man’s chest and clutching his heart.** _

_**But when he tried to pull back, no progress could be made. The heart seemed almost lodged in his chest. Still, the pain across the man’s face was great, and his teeth showed as he gasped – then his fangs showed, as the gasp turned into a snarl.** _

_**Suddenly Rumple was on the ground, a wolf on top of him, and the four others were rushing him with weapons drawn. The wolf snarled and started biting, tearing at his flesh. Each fang and claw passed harmlessly through him, no different than a blade, but for once Rumple felt a tingle of pain.** _

_**And that made him feel fear.** _

_**Rumplestiltskin threw his arm forward, at the open and vulnerable maw of the beast, and summoned a fireball into it with his . Deep within the beast an explosion erupted, smearing the clearing with blood and innards and freeing Rumple of his attacker.** _

_**He vanished then, appearing unharmed and cleaned of gore a few feet in front of the men. His voice came out surprisingly calm, low and steady despite the loathing his eyes contained.** _

_**“Even the biggest of dogs get put down when they bite the wrong man,” Rumple growled. Four more growls shot back, as each of the mens’ eyes started glowing yellow.** _

“I did what had to be done,” Gold said quietly, never taking his eyes off of you. “I put an end to their kind, once and for all.”

“All of them?” Emma whispered.

“The whole damn village. One, two at a time. Couldn't be too careful, after all.”

“You killed their families?!” Belle said, sounding shocked.

“They were all thieves and killers,” Rumple shouted. “Had I allowed them to live there is no telling what might have happened! They’d preyed on men for years, anyone with coin that passed through their village. I knew about it, and because I underestimated them it put my son in more danger than he’d been since before I became The Dark One. They were a danger, a liability to leave around.”

“But what _are_ they?” You pleaded, foregoing the aggressive route. “What _am_ I?”

“A monster!”

Gold’s voice rose again, and a fireball appeared in his hands. You braced for impact, preparing for the strike-

“Stop, Rumple!”

Belle’s hand wrapped around Gold’s wrist with what could have only been far less than the strength required to stop him, yet it succeeded more than even Emma’s efforts had been able to accomplish. The fireball completely vanished, and Rumple looked over at Belle with what, surprisingly, you had to describe as at least a form of love.

“Belle, I’m doing this for you,” he said, still not lowering his arm.

“Prove you’ve changed, for me. Trust them, like I do you. They can’t all be wrong, can they?”

“Never stopped them before,” Gold muttered, earning an eyeroll from Emma. Despite his words, he lowered his arm, glaring intently at you and pointing quite accusingly with his other hand.

“You want to know what you are? Fine, let’s all have a nice chat. But I warn you – if you even growl while you’re in the same building as Belle, I’ll hang your hide on my wall.”

“I don’t think threats are going to help anyone, Gold,” Emma said, finally lowering her own arms. The dwarves got back to their feet, Killian retrieved his sword, and Ruby once more glued herself to your side, her fingers interlacing with yours.

“Table only sits five,” Gold said as he took a seat and glared back at the dwarves, Killian, Snow, and Charming.

“We’re not leaving until we know you’re not going to kill anyone,” David said, nodding his head with confidence.

You wondered for a moment if that was true. A part of you couldn’t help but think they wanted to stick around to learn what exactly you were. Not that you blamed them – you were kind of running around in their town, after all.

“Very well, then. Let’s all play show and tell. I’ll show you mine, if you-“

“Enough games, Gold,” Emma said. “Tell us what this is and we’ll take the proper precautions. Is it a curse? Enchanted object?”

“Neither,” Gold said simply, lacing his fingers and resting his head upon them. “It’s a matter of race, Swan, not magic. At least, not the kind you’re talking about. This one,” he said with a quick nod in your direction, “is just a member of a different variety of magical species. They’re called Berserkers. No more unique or special than the fairies, dwarves, giants, or any of your other mundane legendary creatures.

“They were great warriors, supposedly, thousands of years ago. There used to be whole tribes of them, and when they get angry… well, you’ve seen what happens. They lose all control, go into a trance-like state, and if they get really angry, start to sprout fur and fangs. They’re highly resistant to magic, incredibly strong, and they don’t even feel pain when they’ve transformed. The only way to stop one is to run it through the heart, or kill it with magic that isn’t based in magic. Fire, drowning, electrocution, that sort of thing, the really lovely stuff. Even that has to be applied to a weak point, because they’re a lot stronger than ordinary wolves. Try to directly peel anyone’s skin off with magic, though, and you’ll give them an itch at worst. They also heal incredibly quickly; whatever doesn’t kill them may not make them stronger, but they’ll just get back up from it anyway.

“There used to be an entire kingdom of them, but one of the last Dark Ones apparently wiped out all but a few families because of the threat they posed. Not to them, you understand, but to whoever held their dagger. How long ago and who exactly it was have been lost to time. By the time I had my encounter with them there was nothing left but a small village, and what few had moved on. By the time I was finished, there wasn’t even a legend left of them.”

“That would explain how you took a fireball without flinching, and how you recovered so quickly after that Harpy tried to carry you away,” Ruby said, glancing at your shoulders.

“Yeah, I guess I did. Feels like it happened an hour ago and I’m already down to a few band-aids,” You replied, hand unconsciously rubbing at the indents in your shoulders that were barely noticeable, but still indicators of where those talons had sunk into your flesh.

“And there just so happens to be one left after all this time?” Ruby said, curiosity unable to fully hide itself behind the doubt in her words.

“Oh, my, no. See that’s the worst part of it all. Unlike you, dearie, this is entirely a bloodline thing. There’s no risk of transmission, from a bite, a scratch, or anything more… intimate,” he said, casting a smirk at Ruby that made her blush, though she held her gaze. “If it still exists, then it still exists in force. Everyone that shares blood with this one has a chance to inherit the ability. If it’s the same as it was in our world, it could be almost guaranteed.”

“That can’t be,” you said, shaking your head. “There’s no way. My family isn’t violent; they’re not even soldiers or police officers, anything like that. None of them have gone to prison for murder, that’s for sure, unless it was more than a few generations back. How could we be walking time bombs, waiting to turn and tear someone apart, without _someone_ finding out?”

“Well, it may be by blood, but you still need a little magic to transform,” Gold said, running his hand over the table. A quick gesture, and suddenly there was an image of Gold and Belle approaching a wishing well in the forest. He dropped something in, and suddenly a great mist came out, rapidly expanding until you could see nothing at all.

“What’s that?” You whispered, sensing a great deal of power there.

“That… is the moment I brought magic back to Storybrooke,” Gold said simply, glancing up at you. “This world has no magic of its own, so in order to bring it over, my spell had to be incredibly powerful. Suffice to say, there’s no reason to doubt that some of it could have leaked through the curse’s barrier. Not much, but enough to activate the magic that was already in your blood. Or, it’s entirely possible that you were only using whatever magic lay within your body already; there’s still magic in this world, but only in the things – and people – we bring into it. Some are gifted more than others… it’s possible your family’s tempers were manifestations of that, and you just happened to get a stronger dose than your ancestors, making you even more dangerous. Magic is unpredictable when it’s not being controlled. Besides, even if you weren’t completely transforming, you certainly turned enough to kill a man, didn’t you?”

Damn. He must have heard of the little revelation you’d given at the hospital. Gold was a dangerous man, even when he wasn’t trying to kill you directly, and he seemed to have eyes everywhere.

“Your ancestors might have come here through a magic bean, a curse, or nearly anything. The history of magic is long, and many forms have been lost to us through the ages. Whatever the case may be, as long as you’re in Storybrooke your transformations and temper are going to be drastically worsened. The magic here is natural and as without limits as it was in the Enchanted Forest, and your body will feed off of them.”

“Doesn’t matter...” Ruby said confidently, gripping your arm even more tightly. You hoped in solidarity. “The only person that’s been threatened around here is you, Gold, and you started it.”

You thought it wise to keep silent about the fact that you’d been ready to attack Emma too if she even glanced wrongly at Ruby.

“I didn’t intend to start, I intended to finish,” Gold said. His words still held the same conviction as before, but he no longer appeared ready to attack you, so that was a plus.

“I think all of you should go. Don’t worry, we’re going to have a long talk about all of this, I promise,” Belle said, glancing between everyone gathered there.

“We’ve got bigger threats to worry about, Gold. We need your help with the harpies.” Leave it to Sheriff Swan, on point and ready to get back to more pressing matters. Maybe she hadn’t come along just for the sake of an escort after all.

“I’m sorry, Swan, I must have missed the part where I owed you a favor. Worry not, I’ll track them down, but only for Belle’s sake, not any of yours.”

There wasn’t much else beyond that. Nobody really turned away from Gold, but you all began to back out. To your surprise you were one of the last to leave, along with Ruby and Emma.

“Word of advice…”

Gold was looking right at you, so there was no mistaking that the next words were meant for you, even when he looked back at Belle.

“…don’t come anywhere near Belle. Wild dogs get put down.”

“So do mad men,” you snorted. “Don’t come anywhere near Ruby. Or any of my other new friends.”

You grabbed Ruby’s hand and finally turned your back on Gold. The hair on the back of your neck prickled as you did it, but you refused to give him the satisfaction of turning back. Even as shocked as you were, dealing with all your new revelations about your family history, you had pride. As you walked out onto the steps, she looked up at you and smiled.

“Not many people in this town that aren’t here right now are willing to stand up to Gold. Honestly, it's pretty much just this little group... and now you,” Ruby said quietly as you walked down the steps outside the library. “Nice to know we’ve got another one.”

“You shouldn’t be surprised,” you murmured, running your fingers through her hair. “We all have a lot in common now. We have something to fight for.”


	12. Up Close and Nothing Personal

“Okay, ready?”

“Might I suggest that this is not the most intelligent course of action, given our lack of knowledge of this power?”

“I hate to agree with the pirate,” you said, looking at Ruby nervously, “but I agree with the pirate.”

“As long as you’re stuck here, you need to learn to control yourself,” Ruby said with a quick nod. “The only way you’re going to do that is if we try. Besides, we know you won’t hurt me while you’re like that.”

“We think that, but how certain are we?” Killian asked, gesturing between the two of you. “Now, Emma put me in charge of making sure you two didn’t do anything incredibly stupid… I'm starting to question whether or not you two were too busy playing pack mates to hear what she said. Wandering off into the woods outside your tavern was bad enough with all the birds flapping about, but this is nearing insanity.”

“This isn’t stupid,” Ruby said firmly. "Also, shut up.”

Ruby turned her fully attention back to you then, looking into your eyes with a degree of intimacy that shocked even you. She nodded, then threw her hands out to the sides in a sort of carefree gesture.

“Alright… let’s start. Just try to turn, however you can.”

You nodded, but weren’t even sure how to begin. You tried thinking back to the moment you’d turned last time, right as Ruby was being lifted away from you by those powerful claws. It made you a little worried, even angry, but nowhere near the level you’d been at the time. Maybe without the adrenaline and excitement of a real situation, you’d never be able to do it.

“I don’t think this is going to work. I’ve never tried before, so I don’t even know where to begin. Besides, last time it was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing, you know?”

“You’re right…” Ruby said, putting a hand to her chin. She turned to Killian and pointed at her cheek a moment later. “You need to slap me in the face.”

Killian’s eyes widened in shock and he held up his arms in surrender. “Sorry love, but I’m not risking another one. Still having one hand brings me great pleasure.”

“I’m sure it does, now slap me!” Ruby demanded, patting her cheek.

“You’re both out of your bloody minds. Why did I get picked to play wolf-sitter?” Killian asked, sighing and walking away to what he must have considered a safe distance. Ruby sighed and turned back toward you, rolling her eyes in utter exasperation.

“Killian might have a point,” you said, backing away yourself just a little. “I was all on board for figuring out how to control myself, but not on deliberately trying to antagonize whatever the hell Berserker thing I am.”

“Relax,” Ruby said, in way that caused you absolutely no amount of relaxation, “and then get angry.”

The smacking sound echoed around the clearing like the clap of thunder, reverberating in your ears. The trees around you seemed to bend outward, swaying as your vision focused on the red marks growing steadily across her cheek. Ruby didn’t seem to notice your reaction, though, because she only gave you another moment or two of peace before she did it again, this time on the other cheek. The sound made you physically flinch, and you swore your teeth were ready to crack as you ground down your jaw.

You couldn’t believe what you were seeing. The red on her cheeks darkened, but aside from a brief grimace as she actually performed the slap she didn’t change from her smiling self.

“Ruby, stop-“

She didn’t listen, probably not the least of which was because she finally realized she was getting a reaction out of you. Another slap, and then another. As far as you could tell, she wasn’t holding back, either. She continued to assail herself, one after the other, until you were gritting your teeth and felt a growing urge to shout-

“STOP!” You shouted, your hand wrapping around her wrist. Your grip wasn't tight - you were more cupping her arm than actually grabbing it - but you blocked the hand from connecting with her face again. You stared into her eyes, feeling drawn to them. The scent of an autumn meadow mixed with freshly hewn parsley tickled your nose, and blasted your consciousness with its lulling effects.

“S-sorry… just, please stop,” you said quietly.

“Holy shit, did you see that?!” Ruby said, glancing behind her and toward Killian. Your eyes widened as you turned as well, and found him with one hand on his blade, already half-drawn from its sheath.

“Sorry, mate,” Hook said with a shrug that said he wasn’t sorry at all, as he sheathed the blade again and turned to address Ruby. “And yes, I did. Bit impressive if it wasn’t for the part where I heard the last thing that happened to ended up in pieces. Tiny pieces. Some of which are still being digested, I suspect.”

“What the hell are you- oh, shit,” you muttered, looking back behind you. When you’d first started this little experiment, you’d been almost twenty yards away from her. After you backed away, maybe twenty-five. You didn’t remember crossing that distance, but the foot-sized divots in the ground and the strewn chunks of dirt and grass made you think it was more of a “blink-and-you’ll-miss-it” kind of thing.

“Oh shit is right. I’ve never seen anything on two legs move that fast,” Ruby said, looking up at you, still smiling.

“Yes, but- I could’ve hurt you!” You were still kind of surprised you didn’t.

“I can take care of myself. Not that I didn’t appreciate the harpy thing… but as far as I’m concerned, we’re just even. Want to call it a day? I’m all for figuring this thing out, but I don’t think you’re going to fully turn unless Hook over there starts swinging that sword at me.”

“Right, that’s it, I’m quite done with all this nonsense,” Hook said, apparently not trusting the sarcasm in Ruby’s voice given her previous actions. “The sun’s nearly set, and I’m due for a mug to try to forget that you’ve been goading each other into some sort’ve frenzy-kisses all afternoon.”

Hook rolled his eyes and set back toward Granny’s, walking quickly across the field and away from the two of you.

“Frenzy-kisses?” You asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

“I don’t know either,” she said with a shrug. “Wanna go see if we can figure it out?”

You laughed and wrapped your fingers with her before traipsing off toward the hotel. Hopefully, things with Granny would continue to be somewhat… not-awkward. Thankfully Ruby seemed to be as much into the idea of keeping things out of her grandmother’s sight as you were.

“I… I wouldn’t have hurt you,” you said, feeling a little sheepish about your grab.

“I know,” she said, smiling. Just like before, she had no hesitation.

“How?” You said, appreciative but completely befuddled.

“Same way as before. If anyone was going to look past what they see on the outside, why wouldn’t it be me? Even when you were ready to rip out Gold’s throat, I could still see you in there. Could still…”

She trailed off, kind of leaving her sentence unfinished, as you’d already reached the doorway that Killian was holding open. She tipped her hat to him and walked inside, offering an enthusiastic greeting to Granny as you waved and headed back to the room you’d been offered until all this blew over.

That being said, you weren’t in so much of a rush that you didn’t see Killian casually take a seat in the corner of the diner, no menu, and no one else around. Staring at you as long as he could, until you were out of sight around the corner of the hall.

It looked like you were still being babysat until all this got sorted out.


	13. Into the Wild Feathery Yonder

“I just… _really_? You emphasized, staring at the pages in wonder.

“Seriously! It just showed up one day,” Henry said, pointing out the page – one involving something along the lines of bridge trolls and black fairies. “It has every story from our old world that you can think of, and pictures to boot! This is how my grandparents met – how Prince Charming and Snow White fell in love.”

“That was a very, very long time ago,” David said, laughing quite heartily as he pointed to the picture. “Do you remember this? I still can’t believe we let a bunch of bridge trolls catch us off guard like that.”

“I know, we were both a little younger and a lot less experienced,” Snow said.

“A little younger they say, even thirty years later. Thirty years before thirty years ago, **I** was young! Just because we were under a curse doesn't mean we're still young at heart,” Granny said, tutting as she carried a full plate through.

The habit of sitting at Granny’s was one you could get used to, you thought. Now, with all these people surrounding you, and those that weren’t with you actually daring to sit a little bit closer, it was almost like you were a normal person. Amongst a bunch of fairy-tale characters, maybe you were closer to normal than you thought.

“Are you sure you don’t want any help, Granny?”

Now that was new. Seeing Ruby so eager to help made you wonder what was going on for things to have changed so drastically since your arrival. Still, it was family business, and that made you a little hesitant to get involved – who knew what was going on? Besides, Ruby’s face said she was just as shocked as you were that she had to ask in the first place. When Granny strolled by without a word, Ruby turned toward Regina.

“Seriously, there’s something going on here. Regina, did you hex my grandmother?”

“What? No! If I was going to hex anyone, it’d be one of you two. That way I could finally be rid of your incessant puppy-dog eyes. Oh, and pun very much intended,” Regina said, raising an eyebrow. You thought that, of all the people you had met, she was perhaps the easiest to believe had an alternate persona. What little you might have seen of her so far, Evil Queen definitely fit her personality something fierce.

“Right, like you’re any better,” Ruby said, casting her eyes to the side where Robin Hood was conversing with a few of his merry men and- geez, after so many days here that still bothered you to actually think to yourself.

“Terrible news! Terrible news!”

The gruff and scruffy dwarf – literally Grumpy – barged into the diner shouting his lungs out. Everyone around you looked alarmed but managed to keep their calm in a way that made you think maybe this was a lot more common than you could’ve imagined.

“What’s going on?” Snow responded immediately, leaping up from the table and running over, with most of your new friends in close proximity behind her.

“Those things are attacking the town! It’s like a madhouse out there,” Grumpy shouted, pointing out the windows. You didn't see anything at first, but true to his word, there were creatures flying through the streets a few moments later, terrorizing anyone who was a little bit too vulnerable. For the most part people were either in cars or indoors, so it didn’t seem like many were in danger, but there were others tearing at doors and windows, generally doing anything they could to get inside. Even as you looked outside, one of them smashed into the window and then flew away, apparently discouraged by the pain of running into the clear material. Thank god Granny had a strong diner.

“We have to help them!” Snow shouted.

“Henry, find somewhere safe to hide,” Regina cautioned, raising up one of her hands. In an instant, a fireball formed with a distinct whooshing sound. “What about you? Are you going to do something, or just sit there with that stupid look on your face?”

Judging by the glare, there was no mistaking that she was talking to you. You nodded and stood, willing to help protect these people who had taken you in. “Alright… let’s go.”

“I don’t know if that’s the best idea,” Hook cautioned. “No telling when you might lose control out there.”

“Would you rather have a giant wolf running around with a bunch of scared refugees from a storm of harpies, or out in the middle of a battlefield where people are already trying to kill each other? At least everyone out there is ready to defend themselves,” Ruby responded heatedly. “At least we can keep ourselves safe. Granny and I will take everyone we can down to the boiler room. Everyone else should get out there and try to save as many as we can!”

The chaos that ensued from Grumpy’s announcement had risen to a critical mass as people ran around the diner, some heading for the exits while others sought cover under tables and counters far away from the windows. Ruby had been at your side, but now she vanished into the crowd and started rounding people up to flee to the shelter of the basement. Someone grabbed your hand – you thought it might have been David, but couldn’t be sure – and then you were pulled through the door and into the mess that was the outside world.

Screams became so much louder as you stepped through, and every fiber of your being went on alert. Every few seconds one of the screaming creatures dove from the air, raked their claws at someone, and flew away. Thankfully, everyone in your group had at least some kind of armament – even the dwarf was swinging his pickaxe at the feathered fiends. You were the only one without a weapon, and you were sticking very close to David, whose blade cut down one of them not long after he stepped out of the diner.

“We have to split up! Hook, find Emma, we’re going to need her help. Regina, we need you to take Robin Hood and keep the skies as clear as you can. Grumpy, you and I are ground team. Everyone else, stay close to us and help get people inside until this is all under control!”

David was taking charge of the situation surprisingly well – he was, after all, the King… or at least the Prince in charge. In no time your group had split in three different directions and into multiple small clusters beyond that. You and Ruby stuck close to Grumpy, who was a surprisingly good team player. Every time that he swung his axe at least one of the creatures was sent scurrying away into the heights.

It seemed like now that some of the townsfolk were out and fighting back, the creatures were becoming a little less aggressive. They were still around, but most were just hovering above the town, far enough away that they could dodge Regina’s fireballs and her beau’s arrows. There was an armistice, if not necessarily a peace.

“What the hell do we do now?” Charming said loudly.

“I don’t know, you’re in charge,” Regina replied sourly, still whirling. Despite the temporary relief, everyone was still extremely on edge.

“Really? I’d like to think there’s someone much more suited for the task of taking charge.”

A black cloud of smoke seemed to rise up off of the pavement, and soon Mr. Gold was once again standing amongst you. Everyone backed away from him, and the dwarves seemed nearly as ready to attack as they had been when actual harpies were swarming them.

“Oh, no need to be afraid. I’ve come bearing good news,” Gold said as he smiled. Out from behind him stepped Belle, who gestured enthusiastically toward the skies. The harpies were beginning to disperse now, perhaps realizing their impending meals were far more aware and prepared than they had anticipated.

“These harpies, they only have one nest. Separate clans fight with such ferocity there are sometimes no survivors, on _either_ side. There’s no way they could all work together like this; they don’t have the intelligence. That means all these creatures are from the same place.”

“So if we find them, we can wipe them out all at once?” Emma dashed into the group from the side, with Killian close behind her.

“Ah, Miss Swan. Excellent timing. Gather a hunting party, we’re going cave-diving.”

“Dwarves are good at that; birds or no birds, count me in,” Grumpy said, hefting his pickaxe.

“I’ve prepared a tracking spell. With so many bodies lying around, we won’t have any difficulty at all finding something belonging to the nest to trace. By nightfall, we should be at the mouth of the cave. Unless you’d like to see if they sneak back in after sunset.”

“Gather everyone. We’ll take anyone that can hold a blade, and we’ll get rid of these things before they can hurt anyone else,” Emma said, pointing around. The group dispersed quickly, and if it wasn’t for Ruby’s hand gripping your arm you might not have spotted and followed her through the chaos that ensued. Soon, you found yourself rushing along the streets, running back toward Granny’s. Wondering exactly what it was about this place that had you after only a few days ready to risk your life for your friends, preparing for battle, preparing for pain, preparing for loss.

Preparing for war.


	14. A Ruby by Any Other Name

The streets outside the diner were growing dark, and it was no wonder that even though the sun was still barely shining, there was a chill in the air. Most if not all of the town was either in hiding or there, and everyone was ready to get this over with.

“Everyone’s here. Are we ready?” Emma asked, looking around at the gathering. Killian was at her side, blade at the ready and perhaps able to be used once now that the magic was on his side rather than against him.

“Almost. Just one thing left. Get this beast out of here,” Gold said, pointing toward you. You narrowed your eyes. Ruby outright growled.

“Enough, Gold. We need every hand we can get… and so far Ruby hasn’t been wrong in the slightest.”

You actually had to fight back a laugh, both at Gold’s sour expression and the fact that the Sheriff was actually standing up for you for once. You smiled at her, but she was too busy watching for any sign of Gold’s interference to pay you any mind.

“Berserk or not, eviscerating a harpy without any weapons isn’t exactly a talent in high supply around here, but it’s sure in high demand,” Ruby said. “Emma’s right. All of us are going. _All of us_.”

“Darn right they are,” Granny said, jabbing forward with her crossbow. “No bird-brain’s getting the best of me or anyone else in this town.”

You could tell by Ruby’s face she had a mixture of respect for her grandmother and seriously wanting to tell her to go home. Not surprisingly she erred on the side of caution, and chose not to get sent back to her room for ‘sassing’ her grandmother.

“Quite frankly at this point I don’t care. You’ve all seen what happens when we let the errors of the past run rampant, and as long as I keep Belle safe I know someone else will be paying the price this time.”

Saying that, Gold motioned north of the town.

“Their nest is that way, I have prepared a spell using the bodies of the fallen harpies to guide us there. They may not leave much of a scent trail while flying, but they can’t escape magic.”

Everyone readied their weapons and the search party started to move out. People around you shifted and changed between a few different faces, as some fell further or less behind the head of the pack when the terrain started to grow rougher. No matter how far away Emma and Gold got though, a few faces never changed. 

Ruby was at your side, close and holding hands desperately, as if she were afraid you’d be pulled from her arms and into the air at any moment. Granny was never in the same place but always nearby, swiveling and showing a surprising amount of dexterity for a woman in her… you wanted to say eighties?

Then there was the cluster of Dwarves. You rarely saw faces, always pointing forward or off into the side and toward the sky, but they seemed oddly protective of you. Perhaps there was something about them you didn’t understand.

“We’re nearly there,” Gold said after an indeterminate amount of time. You had traipsed through what felt like nearly a mile of woods, leaving the lights of the city far behind, but a single feather that Gold was holding onto was putting out a dim glow up ahead and giving you plenty of guidance to navigate forward.

“Stay by my side,” you said to Ruby. “No matter what happens, stay beside me.”

“I can take care of myself,” Ruby said with a smile that was half-serious.

“I’m not worried about you,” you said quietly. “I’m worried about myself. Knowing what I am might not make it easier to control. That’s something I might just have to learn with time… but you’re the only thing I’d never hurt. You’re strong enough to take a beating, but you’re also the only thing I’d never lay a hand on, wolf or human.”

“Which one of us?” Ruby deflected your serious statement with a mildly humorous question, but you could see in her eyes that she understood. Berserkers, whatever they were, had clans and villages all their own. If they were really out of control monsters like Gold seemed to think, that had to mean they would’ve torn each other apart in such close proximity, surely. Ruby was the closest thing you had to family – she was, you were starting to realize, the most dear thing or person to you in the entire town. As crazy as it seemed, as unlikely as it was, she was something you loved, even given how short your stay had been so far.

“Who’s going first?”

In all your seriousness, and with all the attention you’d been paying attention to Ruby, neither of you had noticed that the group had come to a halt. Ahead of you, Gold and Emma stood side by side at a sizeable hole in the ground, easily enough for two people to go side by side. If the harpies could fly down there, it was through sheer skill and familiarity with the exact path of the tunnels.

“Harpies can fly even underground; magic propels their wings… and harpies were never known for making the simplest paths to their nests. Our time would be best utilized to split up. The tunnels will be winding and tiresome in length.”

“Are you sure that’s such a good idea? What if we get ambushed?”

Snow was the voice of reason, as you were starting to see was a pattern. Gold just chuckled, though.

“Beasts though they may be, the harpies are not inept, and they scarcely lay eggs except during very rare breeding seasons – they won’t risk a fight if they can avoid it. If we stumble upon their nest by chance of choosing the easiest path they will have already long abandoned the premises through a more winding passage. We might slay an errant mother or two, but the threat will yet live. Our only choice is to cover every exit, and make sure that none of them can live to pose a greater threat when their numbers have replenished.”

There was a long silence, before finally Ruby raised her arm and stepped forward.

“I’ll go first. I can at least make sure the front of the party is on the right track,” Ruby said. “I can’t track them through the air, but even if they can fly in here, their wings are going to be brushing the edges. That’s enough for me.”

“Alright. Everyone else find at least three other people. We explore every branch, but I don’t want any groups smaller than four. We’ll take point and try to find the main group of harpies first,” Emma said, nodding at you two. Ruby wrapped her arm tightly around yours as you both stepped to the front of the crowd and began the long descent. Just behind you came Granny, then the dwarves, with their multiple torches providing light to glimpse the rocky walls of the caves. Somewhere behind them you could hear Gold and Emma having terse words, but you were too focused on what was ahead to dare think about what they might be saying.

“Stay by my side,” Ruby said, scanning the darkness for the slightest movement.

“Don’t worry, I’m in control,” you said, not taking your eyes off the inky blackness.

“No, not that… I’m worried about you,” she whispered, half-serious and half-sarcastically.

“We’ll have plenty of time to worry about each other after this… if Gold couldn’t do it, these harpies certainly won’t be what tears us apart,” you said, trying your best to sound confident.

Then silence came over the both of you, and together, you marched off into the darkness, only faint torchlight and the shine of each other’s’ bright eyes to guide the way.


	15. 20,000 Leagues Under the Dirt

You thought for a time that it might have been your imagination, but you were finding it exceedingly easy to see in the darkness. The torches the Dwarves carried weren’t much light, and the flashlights carried by a few others were only occasionally able to reach through the crowds behind you, and yet you could see most every crevice of the cave, even those untouched by your lights. You eventually reconsidered fanciful illusions and traded it in for the idea that perhaps being aware of your more… lupine side was enough to trigger some advanced senses, even as you were now? Ruby certainly had very keen smelling power, and you were sure there was more to it than that.

Whatever the case was, it made the dark less frightening. What was very frightening however was the fact that you could hear things. Noises that were hard to decipher. Something that sounded like steel scraping across the stone, and then a moment later, feathery air whooshing around as if it were right next to your ear. Even an inhuman laughter.

“Keep together,” you heard Emma’s voice call out from behind you, “I see a branch coming up. Regina, you take the Dwarves down the right path; I’ll take our trackers on the left. Everyone else, gather your group and try to split as evenly as we can!”

There was a lot of murmuring from behind as the entire group passed information back along the line, but you didn’t dare take your eyes off the darkness ahead of you, as the cackling seemed to randomly grow louder and fade away. Gold split off to group with Regina, which left your group with a lot less firepower. Still, despite how nervous the harpies made you, you couldn’t help but notice how much more relaxed you were with Gold somewhere far away. 

Emma, if anything, seemed more anxious. You noticed as soon as Gold started away from her she went over and whispered something to Regina, as well as Mary and David. All three of them quickly followed after Gold, and soon the number of people you recognized around you had dwindled to barely anyone except for you, Emma, and Ruby. Still a worthy trade-off. The more tunnels you started to branch down and the farther you found yourself from that man, the better off you were, bloodthirsty beasts or no.

“I’m starting to pick something up,” Ruby whispered, “still hard to tell where from – they’ve been here a long time, there’s scent trails everywhere.”

“All I can smell is bird crap,” you muttered. Not a pleasant smell for a human, much less someone with apparently rather enhanced smell.

“Look past that. We’ll have time to hone you in later, but for now you’re going to have to let me take the lead and focus on what’s strongest.”

“Alright, no problem,” you said, but despite that, you tried to focus a little more on what you were actually smelling. There was the obvious, repulsive odor permeating the entire cave, but… beyond that was something else. Something wet, something unkempt. Carried on a breeze, which really should’ve been impossible. Right?

“I hear something,” Emma whispered, staring directly ahead.

“I don’t-“ You looked up and saw nothing but blackness. The lights that the group behind were carrying were dim, and only lit the cave a few feet in front of you. But as the footsteps behind you stopped, as the noise died down to be replaced by mere whispers, you started to hear something. Dull thuds, the soft whispers of a breeze.

Wings. Growing louder.

“They’re coming,” Ruby shouted.

“Everyone get ready,” Emma shouted. She followed it up with something else, but that was lost shortly after in the furious gale that was whipped up, and the shrieks of battle – from both sides. And the pounding of the blood in your ears, loudest and most demanding of all.

Emma took to the forefront of the group, her hands glowing brilliantly. You saw a flash of light and a harpy was dashed against the wall, falling unconscious almost instantly. An arrow flew past your ear, the whistle sharp and almost painful. It embedded itself into the chest of one of the beasts, and then they were upon you.

Ruby was close at hand for only an instant before she was shapeshifting, her red cloak laying forgotten on the floor as you watched her leap toward the ceiling and pull one of the beasts down with her.

A cluster of them were approaching, another squadron, and with Ruby occupied and her grandmother reloading, you were preparing to go in. A hand upon your shoulder stopped you after an instant, though, and you paused. It wasn’t intentional, as it turned out – one of the villagers was shoving you aside as they tried to get out of the way of a harpy that dove past the front lines of the group. All at once, there was no longer order. Claws raked the air, a hunting screech filled the caves, and screams followed shortly after.

“Ruby? Granny? _Emma_?” You shouted, trying to find any familiar face in the crowd. You thought you still saw them up front, but it was difficult to say, and there was no way you could chance transforming anymore anyway. There were too many people too close together, and no clear targets. The harpies were sweeping down and through the crowd, sometimes grabbing someone and other times simply scratching and biting at whatever they could.

You looked ahead and decided the only way you were going to be of use was to be alone. Most of those who had broken and begun panicking were toward the back of the group, and many were fleeing back into the caves. You forced your way forward, shouldering aside the fleeing crowds and the few harpies that ventured close. You tried lashing out, but were too slow, too uncoordinated to grasp at them. At least you were for now.

You didn’t stop until you were past the masses and amidst the real chaos. Ruby and Emma were blasting away at harpies with magic and claws in equal measure, felling one after the other with little hesitation. Killian had his blade drawn and was hacking away, and you were pretty sure you heard the sound of a pistol ricocheting. Even with your hearing it was hard to say; the screams of terror and battle alike drowned out most other noise.

When you finally reached the front lines, when there were more harpies than people, and when Ruby alone was the closest to you, you let yourself go. You didn’t really know what to do, at first. You tried crouching, going almost on all fours, as if evading the harpies more than preparing to strike. But that didn’t accomplish anything. You just looked silly as those around you continued to risk their lives.

Anger. Anger seemed to be the key. You started picturing Ruby, the human and the wolf, getting ripped apart by those talons. Carried away by the wings of the enemy. The thoughts sent chills down your spine but you kept going, kept pressing on until you couldn’t see anything else. Not the battlefield around you, not the allies, not the enemies, not the tender, succulent flesh of your prey as you careened through the air and brought two of them down at once, your fangs sinking into the flesh of one while your claws broke another’s right wing bones and sent them clattering to the stone below.

Anger was easy, fear was hard. None of these beasts could harm you, not really, so you had to picture them harming others. As the harpies swooped down on the new threat that you had become, you felt your back ripped open by talons, but felt it as more of an awareness than anything. No pain stopped you from twisting around at a literally inhuman angle, your fur bristling and mouth opening wide as it came down to crush the skull of your assailant in an instant.

You tore through the crowds, working your way further and further in. Voices around you faded as you worked so far ahead that you could no longer see people, only wings, and still you pressed further. Eventually there was nothing. Your memory was a blur of combat - you had no idea if everything around you had died, or if you'd simply left the battle behind. You’d been following empty tunnels for some time, or so you thought. It was hard to tell time down here. No sun. No breeze. No nature, just cold, unfeeling stone and winged beasts to feed your hunger for blood.

You didn’t know when exactly it was, but you finally felt a presence. Behind you. Instinctively you turned and growled, low and viciously, having trouble seeing in the depths now that you’d left the strange light behind.

“Sorry, dearie, but I told you before - anything that poses a threat to my family has to go.”

You didn’t see it move – rather, it was as if the presence simply appeared before you where a moment ago it had been several yards away. You felt the shove as it landed with both hands, and barely missed the counter, your fangs scraping the skin of its palms. You collided with the stone, a jarring impact that caused little pain you could feel but that sent you tumbling all the same. And tumbling. And tumbling. Before long you were falling entirely, feeling the air rush by your fur and skin as you tumbled ever downwards.

Then you impacted on stone, and for the first time since you could remember, you felt pain.


	16. Six (Thousand) Feet Under

The pain faded, but the darkness did not. No matter how far ahead you looked, what direction you turned, or how hard you tried to open your eyes. You were surrounded by blackness that even your sharp eyes could not pierce, and in the depths of that inky abyss, you heard the sounds of battle echoing from above… and closer, on your own level, the sound of wings.

You remembered the man. That unbelievable bastard. You’d rip his throat out and share it with your beloved. You should have known he wouldn’t leave you alone. Didn’t matter now. You were stuck down here, and you doubted anyone even knew. You were going to have to find your way out.

You tested your weight on each of your limbs, clambering up from the dirt and stones. Your legs burned with each step – fractured, or maybe broken entirely. You didn’t feel pain often. You didn’t like it. A low rumbling growl escaped your throat as you started plodding through the cavern.

You heard the incoming threat a moment too late, as claws raked across your back. But compared to your legs that feeling was like a gentle breeze. Besides, even though you couldn’t dodge in time, you twisted your neck and caught the offending creature before it could get away. You couldn’t tell what part you had, but felt enough to know it was a significant portion of its mass, so you just bit down until you felt a crunch and no more movement. Then you kept moving. The sound of flapping around you was coming in faster and louder. Despite the pain that seeped through even your primal brain, you sprinted forward.

Left. Right. Claws, fangs, some of them yours and most your enemies’. Blood sprayed everywhere, but your mind was ablaze with instinct and you scarcely knew where you’d been hurt, much less how much of the blood was yours. It felt like you were sprinting through their nests, tearing them apart one by one, and making good progress at it, no matter how much damage you were taking.

They would die. All of them. Anything that moved, anything that breathed. And that man at the end of it. You were strong, powerful, and nothing could stand in your way. A glimmer of hope came as the scent of fresh air seeped from your side, sending you in a blind sprint. After nearly bashing your head in against the wall twice, you found an opening and sprinted toward it. You needed out of here. You weren’t sure why you’d come here at all. The man was out there. Somewhere. He was a coward. He’d fled already, no doubt. You would tear him apart.

You ran for minutes, leg pain fading but never vanishing. No more harpies, but still no light. The scent of air grew stronger as you pressed forward, but it was still so faint even your nose could barely detect it.

Something from your right. A quick movement, something so fast you knew it had to be him. Your mouth opened wide, ready to bear down, and-

A wolf’s howl broke the silence. Coming from directly in front of you. You stopped, and took a long whiff of the air. Dirt, dust, mud. Feathers. Blood. But under it all, caked beneath a thousand other scents, was air. Flowers. Freedom. Familiarity – and your mind was suddenly distinctly human in the fear that you felt at what you had almost done. Even in the dark, the sound of her claws on the ground and the strength of her scent told you just how close she was… how close you’d come.

That terror resonated inside of you. Fear of loss. Fright was not an emotion you had felt before, not in this form. Suddenly, your legs ached, and you found it distinctly hard to stand. You tried to lean against the wall but found your weight suddenly too much for even that, and instead collapsed entirely.

A muzzle nudged you quickly, whimpering softly. Your eyes fluttered, struggled to stay open. In the distance a single light became visible, constant and brilliant. In time more people showed up. You thought about growling – some part of you said that it was dangerous, that you were injured and the only one you trusted to take care of you was already there, but you remembered what happened last time you lashed out at something other than those winged beasts. Quietly you rested your head on the dirt and waited.

“Ruby? You found- oh my god!”

Emma. You recognized her voice. The realization that you knew her name even in this form – for once – made you chuckle, something that came out as a harsh groaning laugh.

“Those are some serious wounds… but there’s no way I’m getting close enough to heal the flesh while those teeth are ready to rip me to pieces. More skin, less fur.”

Ruby whimpered, rubbing up against you as Regina spoke those words. You heard the words, heard the plea in that whine, but you didn’t have any idea how to turn back. The last time you were like this, you had passed out. Right now, that didn’t seem like a good idea. Especially with how wet the floor was rapidly becoming underneath you.

Unsteadily, you put your paws under you, forcing yourself up. For a moment everyone held their breaths, but you kept your head low and bowed as you limped over. You couldn’t speak, couldn’t communicate in anything but actions really. So you continued slowly on, against the pain and the numbness and the haziness of your mind. You kept going until you could rest your head against the stone again, at the feet of those who had come, the ones you didn’t trust but had to. Because if you didn’t, you might die. And if you died… if you died, Ruby might be sad.

As you felt a strange warmth come over your body, you realized that was the key to keeping your calm. You’d almost lost yourself in the rage, but despite that… you weren’t a Berserker. No matter what Gold or anyone else said. Berserkers had nothing to lose.

And if you focused on what you stood to lose if you let go of yourself like they did, you wouldn’t have to worry about becoming one ever again.


	17. Biting the Hand That Fires at You

“For the last time, you have no proof-“

“If I did, you’d be out of this town, Gold!”

“I’m not the one who’s a threat to Storybrooke, this… thing is! It took a special barrier just to stop it, it’s just too bad the barrier was pointed the wrong way!”

Gold and Emma were going at it in front of most of the town – those brave enough to be around an enraged Rumplestiltskin, that is. It was a bigger crowd than you thought, probably because Emma was just as furious as he was, and she didn’t have someone clinging to her arm.

“Rumple, did you really do something like that?” Belle asked. You were inclined to believe she couldn’t be that surprised, but she certainly acted like it.

“Even if I did, it would’ve been a blessing if the harpies had gotten their feast,” Gold snarled. “This one can’t keep control for long, you all know it!”

“Since this whole ‘Berserker’ thing came up, the only person that’s been put in any danger was you, Gold, and you started it!” Emma shouted back. “Now I am through with excuses. The next time I even hear you took a step out of line while I had my back turned, I’m personally throwing you across the line. It’s one thing to plot and scheme Gold, but when you start putting lives at risk I’m going to put an end to it. **Now**!”

Gold glared at her, but said nothing at first. He took a look at Belle, clinging to his arm, and then turned back with a sneer on his face.

“Fine, but don’t come near us. I’ll be waiting until the beast turns on you,” Gold said, venom lacing every word as he spoke more calmly than he had since everyone first confronted him. Then he turned and walked away, back toward his house. The crowd parted enough to let him through, and you found yourself alone with your friends again.

“Good riddance,” Ruby said, standing just beside you. “I can’t believe he’d pull something like that.”

“I can. Gold doesn’t like threats, or losing,” David said from behind you. “He was always going to try something else.”

“The harpies were the perfect time,” Mary added. “If you hadn’t survived we never would have known what happened to you.”

“But he won’t step out of line again, at least not for a while. I’m afraid no one can really earn Gold’s trust, though, so as long as you stay here, you’ll have to watch your back. Unless you can earn a favor from him.” David smirked, as if he found the thought of owing a favor funnier than it should have been.

“I didn’t know sticking around was an option,” you said, hesitantly. “Most of the time I’ve been here the good Sheriff has been trying to run me off almost as furiously as Gold has.”

“Given what we’ve learned the past few days…” Emma began, looking around. “I don’t see any reason you have to leave, now. You belong here as much as any of us, and disregarding the rest I certainly learned not to piss off a wolf.”

“Wonder which one of us she’s talking about?” You said coyly to Ruby. The raven-haired beauty just smiled back up with you, showing off perhaps a few too many teeth in the process.

“Couldn’t guess.”

“As I was saying… you’re free to leave, or stay, as you want. Gold’s barrier is going to be an issue, though. I think you’ve already missed your family reunion.”

“Maybe it’s for the best,” you said with a shrug. “Nothing fun ever happens at those things anyway. Besides, I was kind of hoping to get to know you guys. I mean, I just found out that all those stories I read as a child are real – and living in Maine! I want to hear about Prince Charming and Snow White, Captain Hook, the Evil Queen, Robin Hood, everyone! I’ve spent the last few days hearing nothing but tales about awful bloodthirsty beast-men and how terrible they are… for a few days I’d like to hear about the happy endings and the heroes winning.”

“Keep talking like that,” David said with a laugh, “and you’ll fit in just fine here.”

Over time, people dispersed. First the crowd, the spectacle over and the excitement fading. Then the core group you’d followed around for the past few days, the dwarves, the royalty, and the warriors. Emma and her pirate boyfriend stuck around the longest, perhaps suspicious that Gold might suddenly returned. Eventually they too left, though, and although the sun was long past set, you felt as if the day was just beginning.

“You know, I learned something down in that cave,” you said quietly, stepping closer to her and wrapping your hands around her waist.

“What’s that,” she replied, a playful tone in her voice as she knocked your hands away and pulled your hips into her body on her own.

“You’re the one thing I won’t ever hurt,” you began, taking one of your now freed hands and brushing her bangs. “And as long as I focus on you and the fact that I could put you in danger if I act rashly, I won’t lose control.”

“That’s… you don’t know how happy that makes me to hear. But I already knew you weren’t going to hurt me. I’ve trusted you since you first transformed. I could see it in your eyes, and smell it on you the entire way.”

“So, I think… what I’m trying to tell you is…”

You debated for a long time what to say. You’d only met this girl a few days ago, but already she had changed you immeasurably. She was important, not just to the Berserker within, but to the you that had always been there. You couldn’t find words to describe all that in the moment, though. And so far, you two had always let actions speak louder than words. All you could do was lock eyes with her, lean in close, and whisper gently in her ear.

“The moon’s up. Feel like a run?”

“You are so on!” Ruby practically shouted, shoving both arms into your chest. “But can you turn?”

You figured now was as good a time as any to find out whether you were right or not. So you stepped back and thought, deeply. Your mind turned back to that moment in the cave, the moment when your teeth had been bared, ready to rend life and limb. When Ruby’s howl broke the infinite darkness, and when you realized what you’d almost done. The thought of losing her, and-

A long howl broke the night, mournful and sad. The scents around you multiplied, cherry blossoms and sunflowers bursting across your nose, and while you fell toward the ground onto all fours, you had never felt taller. A moment later your howl was joined by a second, and though each was solemn, together they almost sounded as a chorus. To anyone standing nearby, though, that moment of harmony was broken as soon as it began, when both howls turned into a frantic mixture of heavy footfalls, barking, and low, playful growls that slowly faded into the forestry surrounding Storybrooke.


	18. Teaching a New Dog Old Tricks

“You know, there’s one thing I don’t get in all of this,” you said quietly, sipping gently on your coffee. You weren’t the biggest fan of the drink, but even though running with Ruby at night was fun, it certainly left you groggy the next morning.

“Would that be the part where you’re a werewolf, or the part where Snow White’s daughter married Captain Hook?” Granny said, in her best sarcastic voice.

“Actually, it’s you,” you said, pointing a finger.

“Me? What’s so confusing about a little old lady trying to make a living?”

“Granny’s barely even in the stories,” Red said with a raised eyebrow. “What’s confusing you about her more than anyone else?”

“It’s not about the written stories, it’s the ones everyone else has told me about _you_ ,” you countered, mirroring Ruby’s skeptical look. She froze, more akin to a deer than a wolf, and gently set her food back down onto her plate while keeping eye contact.

“Who told you stories?” Ruby said, in her most sickly-sweet voice. The kind of voice she’d use to pry information out of someone right before she pried out their organs.

“Oh, you know. A few people. I heard Granny used to have to beat the suitors off with a stick… and she _never_ met one she didn’t enjoy giving a few whacks.”

“Oh lord, this girl has been getting chased by the men and women of Storybrooke since the curse began,” Granny began, nodding her head and leaning in seriously. “And enjoy it? Hell, it was practically a public service. The people that went after this gal were never of the highest quality. Present company excluded of course.”

“Of course,” you said exaggeratedly, feigning hurt with the most sarcastic voice you could muster. “But you never once tried chasing me off, even when I was nothing better than a stranger that should’ve never shown up at all. You pulled Ruby away once, and then after that… it was like we’d been old friends.”

“Oh come on, you two must have figured it out by now. Are you youngsters really that clueless?” Granny asked, rolling her eyes. She moved over to the register and started punching someone out, but you could tell she was still involved in the conversation.

“I… I don’t know, what are you talking about?” You asked, now uncertain of what was so obvious you’d missed it.

“Yeah, what do you mean, Granny? I thought it was weird you didn’t chase me off again or browbeat us both to death, but I thought you were just trusting me more and letting me have more responsibility.”

“You? Hah!” Granny threw back a huge fake laugh as the customer took their receipt and walked away, leaning her elbow over on the table and glancing over her glasses at the both of you. “No, dear, I just knew what you two apparently couldn’t figure out.”

“Are you gonna tell us?”

“What was it?!”

Both of your voices were frustrated at Granny, but she was clearly enjoying stringing you two along. She quickly wiped up the counter and then looked back, her devilish smirk suddenly replaced with a heartfelt smile, one that was oddly warm even for her.

“True Love. You smelled it the very first night in the hotel, you just didn’t know it. You haven’t lost control since before the curse came down on us, Ruby. I knew there was only one thing that could do it. When this whole Berserker thing came out, I was all the more sure. It’s how your grandfather found me, after all. When a werewolf finds their True Love while transformed, they can smell it on them, sometimes from miles away.”

“A smell…” Ruby said, her eyes fixed on the desk and her mind clearly working a long ways away. “I don’t remember the night that well, it’s all hazy, but… I do remember smelling something. Like flowers, the wind, a cold chill in the air…”

“Herbs, spring, and open fields,” you continued. Ruby looked up and both of your eyes locked together, shock and awe clear on both of your faces.

“Cherry wood and cherry blossoms!” You two finished in unison, stepping forward without thinking about it until your noses were practically pressed against each other.

“That’s why you followed me all the way out into the woods and stopped me,” you blurted out. “And why we- uh, why we were so attracted to each other even when we just met!”

You had been about to point out the absurdity of making out with a complete stranger in the woods until dusk, but you figured that part could stay between the two of you.

“And why every time I was in wolf mode around you I got so clingy,” Ruby said. “I’m pretty independent, but when that harpy went after you, I tore it to shreds, and all I could think about was it taking you away from me.”

“I know! When we got ambushed and I turned that first time... I couldn’t think at all. I didn’t know who I was, I forgot who Emma and Gold were, I just knew I had to rip apart anything that could hurt you. When I was in the caves, I couldn’t see anything. All I knew was that the moment I caught your scent, I calmed down and knew I was safe. You were the only thing I could never forget.”

Ruby was gazing into your eyes with an intensity you hadn’t seen since that night in the woods. The two of you had grabbed each other’s’ hands at some point, and hadn’t moved away even slightly since bumping into each other.

Granny, meanwhile, was laughing so hard that it was a miracle the two of you took so long to notice. When you finally tore yourselves away from each other’s gazes, you found her leaning on the counter for support as her entire body shook.

“Mercy, but you two are hopeless. As soon as Ruby broke into that room I knew there was only one force strong enough to do it. True Love isn’t just an idea, it’s a real power in our world, and this one now, too. Something most people just feel. For us, we get a few more clues… and it tends to be a bit stronger. That’s why you two ended up running off into the forest together after knowing each other for a whole day.”

She threw a long, hard glare at Ruby, losing a touch of her cheer for a moment.

“And that’s the _only_ reason why I didn’t skin _your_ hide for it the moment you stepped back into my diner!”

You didn’t know which one of you she was talking about, and it didn’t matter. By the time the three of you all stopped laughing, there was such a line at the register you thought that there was going to be a riot.


End file.
